;or the East Malaysians in the CEC do not push for 100% disbursements of wealth generated by East Malaysia (rather than the 15% touted by DAP as ‘equality’ or even worse 5% from BN which is mostly pocketed by term limitless and nepotistic as well as corrupted politicians), what East Malaysia will have here is a CEC of puppets controlled by shadow players in the background of tem limitless nepotists taking 1 million in taxpayer monies every term they get from the Rakyat. The policy NOT the racial makeup determines a political party’s value, and from the above reasons, DAP is a USELESS political party good at showing token ethnicity but not actual policy (think pro ISA legal beagle Kasiviswanathan Shanmugan of PAP or the recent spate of firings of Indians from DAP). Nice talk but lies and bad politics that forget the promises they won GE13 by.

The construction of the RM40 million road connecting Ba Kelalan to Bario in Sarawak, at the cost of an essential water catchment area has angered local villagers.

KUCHING: Angry villagers in Ba’Kelalan have threatened the Malaysian Royal Army Engineers Regiment with a court injunction if they persist in building the Ba’kelalan-Bario road.

“If need be, we will apply for a court injunction to stop the army contractors from proceeding with the road construction,” said Baru Bian, a lawyer and Ba’Kelalan assemblyman.

Bian said that he had written to the chief of the Armed Forces that the villagers did not want the road (Ba’Kelalan-Bario road) as it passes Sungai Muda, which is a water catchment area.

The villagers have instead proposed that road be built from Belingi-Lepo Bunga-Bario. This would then safeguard the catchment area.

“The villagers have objected to the road being built through Sungai Muda as it would affect the water catchment area at Sungai Muda,” he said.

Bian, who is Sarawak PKR chief, said he was disappointed with army’s reply that only a few people were against the road construction while the majority of the villagers were for it.

“The folks in Ba Kelalan wants to protect Sungai Muda because its destruction would affect the lives of about 2,000 villagers from Punan Kelalan, Long Muda, Long Kumap, Long Langai, Long Lemutut, Buduk Nur, and SK Ba’Kelalan, an international award winning school,” he said.

In the letter, the army also said that the few people who rejected the road were the supporters of the Bian and that it reflected a very bad image.

“I have submitted a list of 152 villagers who are against the construction, and I will be calling for a big meeting in Ba’Kelalan on Dec 16, 2012,” said Bian.

“If the army still persists in carrying out the construction, we will apply for an injunction. It is typical of the BN mentality to blame the problem on the opposition.”

What about NCR rights?

On the reason given by the army that it is a ‘security road’ having its strategic importance to the forward operation base along the border to Lapo Bunga Cam, Bian said that it appeared that the army refused to listen to the people.

“Are they are serving the people or are they serving their own interest?” he asked.

He also questioned whether the road was properly planned as there was no EIA report and did not appear to involve the state authorities.

“And what about the native customary rights land of the people? Have they been excised out? My suspicion is that the project is improperly done and I urge the army to listen to the people,” he said.

Last month the villagers set up a blockade at Pa’Patar and Arur Lutut which is near the water catchment area called Sungai Muda.

The villagers claimed that contractors had already cleared about a kilometre stretch of the jungle despite their disagreement to have the road built through Sungai Muda.

The villagers told reporters last month that the army had explained to them that they opted for the Sungai Muda route because it is 20km shorter than the Belingi-Lepo Bunga-Bario route, and thus would incur less cost.

The villagers, however, did not buy that story because the Belingi-Lepo Bunga-Bario route is already there and merely needed small improvements, such as culverts.

The construction of the RM42 million Ba Kelalan-Bario Road started on Oct 1 and is expected to be completed by Sept 2014.

Defence minister Ahmad Zaidi Hamidi said army would implement the project under the Blue Ocean Strategy, and the road was a continuation of the 75km Long Luping-Ba Kelalan Road which was completed in September last year.

Does the above NPP warning ring any bells? (Please warn to remove if offensive . . . the post will be removed if so . . . )

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Good work but please do get some busybody QC from England to front you guys or make sure the UN gets minutes and video footage of every step taken by Orang Asli here. At the sme time don’t get too close to the colonial English. Replacing one Tuan with another Colonial White Raja is no different and will result in the same nonsense. Ask for equality in disbursements of wealth generated from east Malaysia, or demand secession then independence at the UN!

US Opposition Leaders have slammed Malaysia and PM Najib for pursuing the “politics of ambivalence”, urging Putrajaya to drop its “aggressively” pro-Islamist stance and meet strife-stricken ASEAN nations at least half-way over the long-standing BUMIPUTRA APARTHEID issue, which he argued was a key factor for the growing anti-Malaysian sentiment around the ASEAN world.

“People don’t hate Malays because of rights or they are Malays but because of the contradictions, the injustices. How can you expect any woman or man who have lived in the era of human rights to accept the crimes committed in Malaysia against Malaysian non-Malay minorities,” USA said during an hour-long interview with Israel-based TV conducted in Tel Aviv on November 20 and aired on December 12

“It is important for Malaysia not to take a blinkered view. [For example] they can choose to disagree with Arabia but they must engage with Arabia…we talk about nuclear capability, the non-muslim world is saying why not to Israel and ‘yes’ to USA. Why ‘yes’ to Pakistan and ‘no’ to India?

“[This is the] politics of ambivalence. On one hand, you talk about democracy and on the other you work with the Lim Kit Siangs and the Anwar Ibrahims and the Karpal Singhs. There is a vast contradiction… Malaysia is perceived to be condoning the excesses and this is continuing mind you.

“You must have consistent coherent policies so that people can trust you.

Anwar better than Najib but still an under-performer in ASEAN policy

Obama, a well-respected figure who frequently tours and lectures around the Western world, minced no words when he questioned how Malaysia if it truly “challenges itself as the bastion of democracy and freedom” could close an eye to the mass killings and plight of the innocent, especially women and children, in the Israel.

He urged Anwar, whom he rated as being “better than Najib”, to break new ground in Malaysian foreign policy by putting greater pressure ad responsibility on Putrajaya to come to the negotiating table with the Western nations and on fairer terms.

“My stand is he’s better than Najin in terms of rhetoric in his speech but not in the actions, not in the foreign policy, not in his response to the apartheid and discrimination in Malaysia. This is totally unacceptable.”

Aggressive racists can be reined in by Malaysia

When asked if Anwar or the Malaysia could rein in the Najib administration, which has been accused of preferring military action rather than dialogue, Obama pointed out that Malaysia supplied the bulk of financial aid to racists.

“Of course they (Malaysia) can, they can do it in Putrajaya, they can do it in Thailand. I am not suggesting they go and conquer Indonesia which I opposed the war in Indonesia. But the Malaysia wields a lot influence. Putrajaya is the largest recipient of aid from Malaysia, huge, and the second very very low is Singapore. So can we say there is no influence? We are not even asking Malaysia to influence what is improper,” he said.

“Without the Malaysia, Putrajaya will not be able to move.”

A practising non-Muslim, Obama also took to task the OIC as well as some parts of the Western world including the current US government for failing to take stronger measures that could contribute to a more sustainable solution for Israel due to fear of offending Palestine.

“The position of the Palestinian can be considered to be extreme in the sense that all excess and all transgressions of international laws, all plunders and including the Occupation of Israel seem to be condoned accepted and that seems to be the main contentious issue not only in the non-Muslim world but the world that believes in freedom and justice. That seems absolutely so difficult. Many of my friends in the administration and past administrations in Malaysia tell me, Obama you can debate with them, you can argue with them, you can disagree with them on every subject except the Israeli-Palestinian issue,” he said.

“I think the Palestinians are misreading the situation purely and plainly because of their complete arrogance of power but my criticism of the USA government’s attitude is that nothing has been done except for resolutions and the resolutions seem to ignore Malaysia so we must also check on the Security Council and Malaysia because without Malaysian assistance, the Bumiputra Apartheid will not move in that manner (to attack Israel).

Don’t give up: Vital for the US to engage with the Bumiputra

The un-bespectacled Obama, a former Senator whom many USa watchers rate as having a better than even chance of becoming his country’s next Nelson Mandela in ending apartheid in Malaysia, also urged Middle Eastern nations not to give in to frustration but to keep trying to engage with the Malasyia despite Malaysia’s “hypocrisy” and refusal to rein Bumiputras.

“My position on Malaysia is that you should engage with the Malaysia . I meet them, I engage with them but I also know the hypocrisies [behind] some of their policies. In USA, they [the current Obama administraton] cannot cheat in the elections and Malaysia’s apartheid Bumiputras can be muted

“But Malaysia remains an important regional player. It has its ideal which many of us share on democracy and freedom and justice and if you have the leadership that comes to accept this and has consistent, coherent policies, non-Muslims are not blikered in their acceptance.

“Just stop the APARTHEID OF BUMIPUTRA, why is it so difficult for a country that is challenges itself as the bastion of Islamic values and freedom to say, ‘whatever the excuses, stop the anti-Islamic APARTHEID OF BUMIPUTRA’. You can’t do that and at the same time condone the excesses of the APARTHEID OF BUMIPUTRA on the pretext of protecting your Malaysian security.

Obama, who was accused of supporting Palestines’s right to fire rockets at Israel, slammed the government-controlled US media for twisting his words out of context and blowing up the issue to smear his prestige with non-Muslim voters ahead of a coming general election.

“There was no controversy. I met Netanyahu, the Israeli leader and he didn’t even bother to ask me for any explanation,” said Obama, who has been slapped a RM100 mil defamation lawsuit against the Malaysian newspaper owned by the opposition Pakatan party.

“I have no problems with Palestine contingent and conditional upon them keeping their citizens in the Occupied Territories… recognizing the Dewan (Malaysian Parliament) and Putrajaya and stopping the killings, the plunder, the victimization of the Israelis. What the US media did was to cancel all of that and said that I have no problems with the security of Palestine.”

Malaysia Dis-Chronicle

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The APARTHEID of Bumiputra is a failure in Human Rights, Islamic Jurisprudence and a symbol of the corrupted nature of ASEAN-form Islam in Asia that does not grant :

;as is the systematic abuse of those who wish to create spaces and equality for all. Freedom of speech or freedom of life, must not result in retaliations as some of us faced over the last decade or so, more so from supposed religious types (religion makes for false sense of entitlement in Malaysia over the atheist or agnostic or subculturist).

KUANTAN -The Sultan of Pahang, Sultan Ahmad Shah today called on residents of Cameron Highlands to stop illegal land clearing there as this can have detrimental effects on the environment.

The Sultan said the problem had been going on for a long time and urged the state government and the local authority to tackle it.

“Maybe the district council does not have enough manpower to monitor every spot of the highlands for illegal land clearing.

“Therefore, I urge the residents of Cameron Highlands to stop illegal land clearing,” the Sultan told reporters after laying the foundation stone for the International Islamic University Malaysia’s (IIUM) Medical Faculty Hospital, near here, today.

The Sultan had earlier expressed regret over an English newspaper report on illegal land clearing for farming in Cameron Highlands which the ruler felt was blown up.

The Sultan said the people should also look at the positive developments in Cameron Highlands which had made it a renowned tourist destination even among foreign tourists.

“I want everyone regardless of race to unite and work together in developing Cameron Highlands,” he said.

IIUM president Tan Sri Sidek Hassan in his speech at the event, said the hospital, with 350 beds, would be built according to syariah standards.

“It will also have sophisticated equipment to provide specialised treatment for the people in and outside Pahang,” he said.

– Bernama

Commentator Comments :

Thursday, 13 December 2012 10:57 posted by temasik

I wonder what the Sultan of Pahang view on the following in Pahang .

1.Raub Australian Gold Mine which is alleged owned by daughter of Pahang Royalty family. The mine operation poisoned the surrounding land in Raub and many durian farmers in Raub are eager to let go of their durian farm.

2.Lynas in Kuantan – Harmful Radioactive waste can last 250 years unless u believe Mahathir’s story it is harmless.

3. tasil Cini & Bera – the once beautiful landscape now turn into a sea of yellow . again . it belongs to Royalty .

Politicians and their families, especially some people close to Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and her government after the latest reshuffle on October 28, rank among the richest stockholders in the country.

Appearing among the 5,737 millionaires as of September, according to a survey of investors in the Stock Exchange of Thailand by Money and Banking Journal in collaboration with professors from Chulalongkorn University, are Yingluck’s two nieces, who are daughters of her big brother and former prime minister Thaksin.

The younger niece, Paethongtarn Shinawatra, was ranked 47th with her 29-per-cent holding in SC Asset worth Bt3.46 billion (S$13.7 billion), while Pinthongta Shinawatra was 53rd with a 28-per-cent stake in the same real-estate company worth Bt3.35 billion.

They benefited from the 65-per-cent surge in SC Asset’s stock to Bt18 apiece as of September 30. This raised the Shinawatras to 27th among stock billionaire families from 30th in the previous year.

Pojaman na Pombejra, Thaksin’s ex-wife, fell to 502nd this year from 467th although her 2.8-per-cent stake in the family business accounted for Bt333.11 million, up 50 per cent.

Pongthep Thepkanjana, deputy prime minister and education minister, has his wife and daughter on the list. Yapa was ranked 244th with a 2.1-per-cent interest in Kiatnakin Bank worth Bt795.50 million, while his wife Panida was 264th with a 1.9-per-cent stake worth Bt728.08 million in the bank.

Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yoobamrung has two sons on the list – Artharn at 1,811st with a 2.6-per-cent stake worth Bt58.28 million in Unimit Engineering, and Duang at 2,213rd with 1.8 per cent or Bt38.60 million in the same company.

Heading up the stock-exchange billionaires were the same faces. Thongma Vijitpongpun, president and chief executive officer of Pruksa Real Estate, was the richest for the third straight year with equities worth Bt23.5 billion. Most of his stocks (58.6 per cent worth Bt23.31 billion) were in his company, with minor holdings of 1.1 per cent in Quality Houses and 0.7 per cent in Seafco.

The Maleenont family was this year’s champion for the 14th year in a row. With a 108-per-cent jump in BEC World this year, the family’s stock wealth soared by 108 per cent, or Bt36.46 billion, to Bt70.26 billion.

They were followed by the Chirathivats with Bt40.87 billion, up 92 per cent, and the Vijitpongpuns with Bt28.09 billion, up 27 per cent.

Thailand’s 40 richest people have a collective wealth of US$55 billion (Bt1.73 trillion), an increase of 22 per cent from $45 billion last year, according to Forbes magazine.

Forbes noted that many of Thailand’s wealthiest are looking to take on international rivals, on the strength of an expected 6-per-cent growth in the Thai economy this year. For a country that some outsiders see as beset by political turmoil and rural insurgency – never mind last year’s calamitous flooding – Thailand has done remarkably well by its richest.

-The Nation/Asia News Network

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Thailand has done remarkably well by its richest. And the poorest? Ethics? Nepotism? The examples of crony capitalism are startling here. Politicians who are also plutocrats are an affront to Democracy and wealth distribution, equality of citizens and the concept of a ‘shared nation’. A handful of families enjoy life for generations and sequester extreme wealth, the 99% struggle for generations and have no access to even the basics. Revolution or change of laws are needed to the maximum sequesterable wealth of the wealthiest. Quality of life is very bad for the 99% in Thailand, and the so-called poor will never have a chance to be a politician in Thailand! What we have in Thailand is feudalism effectively!

Many quarters have expressed misgivings about the sudden mushrooming of slot machines centres in Penang, despite recent clampdowns by the authorities.

Both Muslims and non-Muslims in the state said the development was worrying as many of patrons of these centres were schoolchildren and teenagers.

Harakahdaily’s observation in Bukit Mertajam has revealed scores of shoplots which had housed slot machines until recently were now back in business, attracting patrons mostly Malay Muslims.

Several residents said they suspected ‘syndicates’ behind the sudden comeback of the slot machines scourge.

Zaki, who lives at a housing estate in Bukit Mertajam, said the centres had been attracting large crowds of school students who spend their money on gambling.

“I am ashamed to see (Malay) students crowding these places. During the school holiday season, it has become their past time,” said Zaki.

Another resident, who wished to be known as Ong, said the authorities should take stern action against the operators.

“It doesn’t matter what ethnic background they come from, because these students would one day lead the nation,” he added.

-Harakahdaily

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Harakah might be exaggerating about the Malay student thing. Meanwhile, please fomally legalise the outlets to prevent further waste of manpower and money, and include normal casino card games and mahjong and dominos as well. The computer screen/slot machine and the alogarithms behind such gambling make winning less possible by the public as each computer will have a quota to win by unlike PHYSICAL cards, dice etc..

At least this is the first time we hear of non-Muslim entertainments being allowed, albeit not formally within law. DAP’s money mindedness has had an inadvertent protective effect on non-Muslim rights to gamble here, though would have been nicer if the local laws were amended for 4D outlets to offer the same PHYSICAL gambling games instead of this computer based and less than neutral chance of winning nonsense.

A senior citizen and her friend were arrested this morning after she demanded an apology from Pahang Menteri Besar Adnan Yaakob for his remarks about the anti-Lynas ‘Green March’ last month.

Tuw Yin Lan, who is 71 and popularly known as Aunty Mei, was among those who had participated in the 300km walk from Kuantan to Kuala Lumpur, organised by Himpunan Hijau.

When contacted, Himpunan Hijau publicity chief Lee Chean Chung said Tuw had gone to the MB’s office in the state secretariat building.

“Aunty Mei was angry with Adnan’s remark that the participants of the Green March had only walked for 200 metres,” Lee said when contacted.

“She waited outside his office from 11am. When the MB appeared, she went forward and asked him to apologise but he refused.”

She was then arrested along with Wong Chun Yuan and was taken to the Kuantan police district headquarters.

Another woman protester was also taken to the police station. However, it was later confirmed that she was not arrested.

About 20 supporters initially gathered outside the police station, while two lawyers from the local legal aid centre were on hand to provide assistance.

The number of supporters later increased to some 50 people, with some donning green T-shirts.

They were held back at first before the police eventually allowed some of them to go in.

Will answer any questions in court

At the Umno general assembly last month, Adnan had claimed that the protesters had not walked all the way as claimed.

He claimed that they had traveled “in luxury and in motorcars” and said he has no sympathy for them.

At around four o’ clock, Tuw and Wong were released from the police station after being investigated, stating they might be charged on Dec 26.

If they are not charged, the duo claimed they were told they must present themselves to the police station within 14 days.

They were interrogated by police who, they claimed, wanted to know if their actions was at the direction by someone, what were they doing and who supported them in their actions.

Both did not say much during the questioning but stated that they will answer in court if charged.

When contacted, Wong said that he and Tuw were arrested under Section 186 and 189 of the Penal Code for obstructing a public servant in discharge of public functions and for threat of injury to a public servant.

Malaysiakini

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Much like Malaysian minority feminists that attack men but neglect apartheid against themselves AND their men, this is what happens to people who go around using Pakatan’s method of marching and demanding apologies instead of campaigning legally and in dignity as independent candidates. Arrests. If this 71 year old does not run for election in GE13 as a 3rd force candidate, we’d all know that the geezer might be a disinfo agent of BN to distract from the lack of :

BN has the mandate to grant the above 3 items but still does not act. By the Human Rights Charter which Malaysia is a signatory or the tenets of Islam about rights of non-Muslims for Haram entertainments and equality, BN is the least sincere choice still. BN, why don’t you use that undeserved mandate and put an end to this farce of 2 part elections? Meanwhile what is the Bar Council doing? Can’t even challenge the federal Government for Article 1 of the Human Rights Charter? Useless over-educated colluders with all the undeserved resources . . . Vote 3rd Force!

When you want to get at someone who has influence and power, you have to plan and execute with precision and style in order to create maximum and lasting impact. Otherwise, it could backfire badly and you might end up hurt or even dead! That is life in the Malaysia’s take-no-enemies, an-eye-for-an-e…

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Nawawi and Stan . . . Zzz. If the election deposit which out 222 MPs refuse to lower is affordable to these guys, just shut up and run for election as a candidate against the creeps (right after winning lower the damn election candidacy deposit).

SANDAKAN — DAP does not represent ‘middle Malaysia’ or the spirit of unity of all races in Malaysia when all eight Malay DAP leaders did not garner enough votes to sit in the party’s central executive committee (CEC) during its congress yesterday.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said that would not happen within Barisan Nasional (BN) that practises fairness to all the races in Malaysia and had a clear direction for the country.

“We also see that DAP is not only dominated by one race, that is the Chinese, but also by a family dynasty where Lim Kit Siang received the highest vote while his son Lim Guan Eng came in second.

“Not only the Malays lose to the Chinese, but even the Indians failed to be elected to the committee,” he said when opening the Liberal Democratic Party 23rd General Assembly, here today.

Najib called on the people to continue supporting BN which practises unity under the 1Malaysia concept and which was also evident in its cabinet.

“Malaysia lies within a good partnership known as Barisan Nasional. Believeme, we (Malaysia under BN government) will go places, our economy will soar and investors will be more confident,” he said.

The prime minister also said the BN government will continue to give out assistance in various fields such as education and business in order for the country to prosper.

Meanwhile, Najib said BN was serious and honest in delivering its promisesto the people unlike leaders such as opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

He said during Anwar’s brief stint as acting prime minister in 1997, the former deputy prime minister under Tun Mahathir Mohamad’s administration had every opportunity to prove his worth, but took the easy way out by letting the International Monetary Fund have control over Malaysia during the economic crisis that year.

“He (Anwar) didn’t protect the country’s sovereignty… He never asked himself why he was not fit to become a prime minister,” he said.

Najib also asked for the people not to risk the future of Malaysia under Pakatan Rakyat. He said the coalition of the opposition parties had no common ideology and had no clear direction for the future of the country.

;and on that basis, could be said to be even more fundamentally flawed. BN has the mandate to grant the above now. Why does BN not act? Because BN is fundamentally flawed. Pakatan has had ZERO years in power and never had the mandate – that is why Pakatan presents a 50 year stronger challenge. Otherwise vote 3rd Force!

(The Malaysian Insider) – Malaysia’s longest-serving prime minister, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, had admitted in his memoirs to interfering in police investigations into the alleged sexual dalliances linked to his one-time deputy, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, a former senior policeman said today.

In his open letter, ex-Kuala Lumpur CID chief Datuk Mat Zain Ibrahim questioned Home Minister Datuk Hishammuddin Hussein’s decision to keep out of an ongoing spat between two former senior crime busters — Tan Sri Musa Hassan and Datuk Ramli Yusuff — which is seen to be jeopardising public confidence in the police force.

“If exposed that Tun Mahathir (picture)himself had deliberately or otherwise admitted in writing that it was true he had interfered in police investigations related to the ‘50 Dalil’ [50 Reasons] book, what would be the response from Hishammuddin or the prime minister?” Mat Zain said in his letter to incumbent Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar, which was also copied to Hishammuddin and PM Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

“It is hoped Hishammuddin will not say that the matter was a personal matter between Tun Mahathir and Musa Hassan and he refuses to interfere too,” he added.

The retired policeman alleged that Dr Mahathir had revealed in his autobiography, “A Doctor in the House”, published last year, that he had a direct hand in police investigations related to a book titled “50 Dalil Mengapa Anwar Tidak Boleh Jadi Perdana Menteri” [50 Reasons Why Anwar Cannot Be Prime Minister] that concerned the then-deputy prime minister’s purported sexual liaisons with several men and women, including prostitutes.

“He had confidently given a guarantee that he will direct the police to bring the witnesses to Sri Perdana once again, if the chief ministers and mentris besar as well as state Umno liaison chairmen wanted to interview them.”

Malaysia’s fourth prime minister wrote that he had first been told about Anwar’s alleged homosexual activities in the early 1990s by then police chief Tun Hanif Omar.

Dr Mahathir, who ruled from 1981 to 2003, said he was then given the book “50 Dalil Kenapa Anwar IBrahim Tidak Boleh Jadi Perdana Menteri” but had initially dismissed it as a sensationalist attempt to make money.

He said in 1997 Ummi Hafilda Ali, sister of PKR deputy president Azmin Ali, sent him a letter with specific allegations of sodomy against Anwar.

The former prime minister said he interviewed the girls who told him they were taken to have sex with his then deputy, who was later charged and jailed for sodomy and corruption.

Dr Mahathir wrote that they were persuaded to do so by an Indian man they knew as Nalla, likely to be Datuk K.S. Nallakarupan, then a close associate of Anwar who has since fallen out with the opposition leader.

Dr Mahathir said he then called Umno leaders including mentris besar and chief ministers to Sri Perdana to brief them about Anwar’s alleged affairs and showed them pictures of the witnesses.

Mat Zain said today that the former prime minister’s statements in the book were “clear proof that not only did he interfere in investigations, but also gave certain orders that were not appropriate to Musa Hassan, until it is believed influenced the overall outcome of the investigations”.

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The judiciary has been unable to act even after a dearth, anti-trust and collusion evidence. The legal fraternity world wide should blackball Malaysia’s judiciary and give support to Musa if Musa decides to take out the ILLEGAL AP law writing (ask any legal body worldwide, they will tell you that Vehicular AP is illegal), failed shipping nepotism bailing, political nepotism causing mamak plutocrat politician Iskandar Kutty Jr..

(Free Malaysia Today) – STAR is clear in pushing its Borneo Agenda for Sabah and Sarawak, saying it’s time for Borneo-centric policies, and that the Malayan Agenda is no longer acceptable.

State Reform Party (STAR) Sabah chairman Jeffrey Kitingan is adamant that PKR is the opposition’s version of Umno and will lord over the people in Sabah and Sarawak if it comes to power at federal level.

Jeffrey, who is also the president of the United Borneo Front (UBF), equated both the peninsula-based political parties as Malayan in nature and unsuitable for the two Borneo states.

“PKR and Umno are the same like the old colonialists. They come to exploit us to get into power to eventually lord over us. PKR should concentrate on winning the seats in the Peninsula which is already more than 75% of the total seats.

“It is their Malaya Agenda to control and colonise Sabah and Sarawak, whereas our Borneo Agenda is just the opposite, to free us from this choking over-lording over Sabah and Sarawak,” he said.

(The Star) – DAP has adopted its Central Executive Committee’s (CEC) resolution on the one candidate, one seat policy.

DAP chairman Karpal Singh said one person should contest only one seat, but there could be exceptions on case-by-case basis based on the party’s strategy.

“The resolution has been adopted,” said Karpal, who had wanted such a policy to provide opportunity to candidates of calibre to contest.

Other resolutions from branches that were tabled and adopted include calls on party leaders to stop openly attacking the party to the point of jeopardising its image.

Perak New Village branch chairman Lim Soo Chong said attacks motivated by personal interest should stop because the party did not belong to any individual.

Another resolution adopted called on leaders to attend party functions and not to demand five-star accommodations.

Six other resolutions could not be tabled because representatives from the branches that proposed them were not present.

On a proposal by Sekinchan assemblyman Ng Suee Lim to impose a direct election system in the party, Karpal said the party constitution needed to be amended for it to be adopted.

“It requires a major amendment to the constitution. If the members feel strongly about direct election, then it should be considered.”

Although Karpal had said the delegates were free to bring up any issue, none of them brought up contentious issues involving Pakatan Rakyat.

Issues such as the gender ruling in salons in Kelantan, “khalwat” summonses issued to non-Muslims in Kelantan and the demolition of a religious altar in a private home in Selangor were not touched.

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The only good news so far about DAP. Double posts mean salaries of up to 1 million yearly – which Rakyat would tolerate this? Where are those MP asset declarations and Local Council Elections as promised? Nepotist, crony capitalist . . .

You cannot create doubts in the minds of the people by making such sweeping statements without substantiation. No amount of denials by the minister or his cohorts is going to clear the reservations of the rakyat unless and until you are willing to be specific.

WHEN Tan Sri Ismail Omar was appointed inspector-general of police two years ago, many had expected him to shape up an already beleaguered police force. From rising crime rates to public order, he had his work cut out for him. Besides, the internal bickering between his predecessor, Tan Sri Musa Hassan and the former commercial crimes chief, Datuk Ramli Yusoff, turned into what appeared to be a bare-fisted brawl. With Tan Sri Robert Phang in the fray, a battle royale has ensued.

After months of anxiety, worry and concern, Ramli was acquitted of charges accusing him of misuse of power.

While the civil suit which was filed by Ramli has yet to start, everyone thought the dust had settled and Ismail would be able to focus on reducing crime rates and other issues of public interest.

But last week, Musa came to the fore with his claims of “interference from politicians” and a host of other claims, allegations and assertions, this time accusing Phang of having had a hand in the transfer of a senior police officer.

Why now? If indeed there was interference, shouldn’t Musa have thrown the Police Act in the face of the people behind the interference and ask them to mind their own business? Was he not the key witness in the trial of a former deputy prime minister who was charged with “interfering with police business”?

Why now? Did Musa consciously stop investigating crimes just because the call came from Putrajaya?

Why now? There were no reasons or provocateurs behind Musa’s sudden outburst and hence why out of the blue, call for a press conference?

Why now? Having yet to answer the charges made by Ramli in his various court affidavits, does Musa now want us to believe his hands were tied in the past?

Why now? Musa retired two years ago and if he was unhappy with the events during his tenure, shouldn’t he have voiced out his views at the handing-over ceremony to his successor?

Why now? Musa had all the opportunity to offer advice to his successor, Ismail who had been his deputy. Is he trying to undermine the IGP by describing Ismail as a “yes man”?

Why now? Who was the Tan Sri who came to you with a stack of summonses? Shouldn’t he have been shown the door and told that the law takes it course?

Such claims have yet again forced the public to form their own views and opinions on the impartiality of the police force. People are wondering if the police pander to the wishes of politicians or if they go by the book in the application and enforcement of the law.

Going by Musa’s assertions, people who have committed murder, robbery and other heinous crimes are walking on our streets on the basis of phone calls from politicians?

These claims may have some truth in them, but making statements without substantiation would be akin to self-appointed do-gooders and instantly-created NGOs demanding all kinds of explanations from the opposition.

Musa did not provide one instance where the minister or a politician had interfered in police investigations. Except for saying that a titled politician turned up in his office to sort out summonses, nothing more specific was revealed.

If indeed the police acceded to directives and instruction from higher up, are we to assume that the police closed the file on the Balkis fiasco where funds totalling almost RM10 million were transferred illegally, which borders on breach of trust?

Are we to say that the police also closed the files on the overseas money transfers that were carried out illegally through money changers although there were prima facie cases against them?

No, Musa. You cannot create doubts in the minds of the people by making such sweeping statements without substantiation. No amount of denials by the minister or his cohorts is going to clear the reservations of the rakyat unless and until you are willing to be specific – incidences, names, dates and times – when such interference took place.

R. Nadeswaran maintains that the police should be impartial and that any charges made must be backed up with evidence. Comments: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Musa is testing the water, and all of the above if ‘fired’ will immediately remove any caveats of neutrality Musa has that will allow Musa to back down, Musa wouldn’t sign their own death warrant. Musa needs to test the waters to see how many supporters Musa has or the public sentiment which will decide if Musa will survive AFTER ‘firing’, if not acting as bait on UMNO’s beha;f to sabotage the whistleblowers – who in either case can count on general discontent to topple BN that Musa may try to cash in on rather than support a hated and racist political party. This is not the first or last time a retired IGP enters politics (think Thaksin’s early days before PAP converted the Policeman in Thaksin Shinawatra into a corrupted bureaucrat who has against all principles against nepotism ingenuously acted as if Thaksin’s sister Yingluck Shinawatra’s presence in the 3rd world mob minded country – the Red Shirts at least – as normal, while refusing to attend court . . . ).

How does being a 3rd Force candidate, if not independent and neutral MP sound to Musa? BN is corrupt, PR is selfish. BN is clearly racist (and somewhat nepotistic) and PR might be racist (and very nepotistic), or quite prepared to be self serving by using racism as a weapon of control. Devil and deep blue sea, how about NEITHER. Go independent or be 3rd Force! Help the rakyat learn that the hegelian dialectic of a supposed 2 party system might still make no difference by offering an alternative 3rd and by extension teaching the Rakyat to think. An ex-IGP (much like the failure ex-Bar President who refuses to run for election but creates chaos on the streets by inciting rallies to no purpose), has the ethos to run as a 3rd Force MP for certain . . .

The individual analyses of the 16 by-elections in the book, contributed by about a dozen observers ranging from journalists to researchers to political scientists, reveal how inept the EC has been, especially in not attending to electoral roll irregularities and preventing abuse of public institutions and corrupt practices.

We often hear of electoral fraud and unfair election practices but what do they really mean? What forms does electoral fraud usually take? What constitute unfair practices and how have they surfaced?

Beyond that, what are the measures that need to be taken to ensure that Malaysian elections are free and fair so that this vital aspect of our democracy is truly well-served and our vote for the candidate or party we support is not made a mockery of?

A new book called Democracy at Stake?: Examining 16 By-elections in Malaysia, 2008-2011, published by Strategic Information and Research Development Centre, answers our questions and collates our concerns into a handy and comprehensive compact.

Edited by Wong Chin Huat and Soon Li Tsin, it analyses the 16 by-elections that have been held since the 12th general election according to such relevant categories as how free, fair and clean they were; the freedom and quality of the campaigning; the political parties’ access to media; corrupt practices that were perpetrated; how impartial or otherwise the public institutions were; the amount of campaign money spent; the electoral roll; and the polling process.

Wong, who is in my opinion one of the sharpest political analysts we have, sets the standard for the conduct of elections in his introductory article.

Well-researched and replete with references from many documented sources, it explains why electoral fraud is wrong (“Even if one person is disenfranchised … even if one vote is rigged, democracy is damaged because political equality is compromised to favour the ones who play foul”) and explains what we as citizens should expect of a free and fair election.

The most fundamental of expectations are that we “must be able to register as voters with minimal cost and trouble” and be able to vote “without much difficulty”, and our votes “must be counted with integrity”. By that token, we must also expect that the electoral roll “includes all citizens who are eligible to vote” and “nobody else”.

Wong, however, declares that the electoral rolls in Malaysia “fail on both accounts”. This is partly because as of March 2012, three million eligible citizens are still not registered voters. But what we may find more disturbing is his revelation that the electoral rolls “include many names who [sic] should not be there in the first place, such as illegally enfranchised foreigners, deceased voters, multiply-registered voters, voluntarily and involuntarily transferred voters who are non-residents in the constituency”.

It is amusing to note that entries like Kampung Baru and a Police Station at Kampung Kerinchi are registered voters on the electoral rolls.

Wong proposes synchronising the electorate database maintained by the Election Commission (EC) with the citizenry database of the National Registration Department (NRD) to minimise errors and allow for corrections to be made continually.

Although he does not say so explicitly, it would also facilitate automatic voter registration, one of the eight demands of Bersih, the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections of which Wong is a steering committee member. The synchronisation of databases would alert the EC to instances of citizens turning 21 and attaining eligibility for voting.

Another disturbing point Wong raises concerns the legal impediments to transparency in the procedure for correction of errors. Section 9A of the Election Act 1958 prevents the electoral rolls from being challenged in court, and Regulation 25 of the Elections (Registration of Voters) Regulations gives “unchecked power” to the EC to “correct any errors free from any public scrutiny”.

This point is particularly pertinent in regard to the Malaysian EC because the public has lost much confidence in the commission’s ability and inclination to be independent and neutral in the conduct of its duty. One important measure that the public needs to take, therefore, is to lobby for the EC to be truly independent and neutral.

If this were achieved, we can be better assured that other conditions necessary for free and fair elections will be facilitated.

These would include what Wong describes as allowing citizens to make “informed decisions after deliberation” from the “availability of information from all perspectives”.

As such, there should be campaign freedom – a reasonable period for campaigning once an election is called; free airtime for all contesting parties on State-owned broadcast media like RTM and unbiased coverage in Bernama as well as private-owned media, like Utusan Malaysia, The Star, Sin Chew, Media Prima’s TV stations, etc; and no restrictions like those imposed in three by-elections at which the Home Ministry banned campaigners from “mentioning (a) Altantuya Shaariibuu, the Mongolian model cum interpreter whose murder was linked to Prime Minister (PM) Najib Razak and his wife Rosmah Mansor, and (b) the role of the Perak Palace in the state’s constitutional crisis”.

The impartiality of public institutions should also be upheld. This includes no abuse of government machinery by the ruling party, such as using official cars and helicopters for party campaigning or, worse, announcing development projects like in the Hulu Selangor “buy-election” when BN offered about RM136 million in projects, payments and compensations while the Pakatan Rakyat Selangor State Government offered about RM27.6 million’s worth.

And of course there should also be no pork barrelling at the hustings, the most famous example being the “I help you, you help me” offer of RM5 million for flood mitigation that Najib made to the Rejang Park voters in the Sibu by-election in return for their support of the BN candidate.

Nor should there be outright vote-buying, as in the alleged giving out of RM100 cash to each Chinese voter at a polling station during the Merlimau by-election.

It is the duty of the EC to report such transgressions but, unfortunately, it has not been fulfilling that duty.

By and large, the individual analyses of the 16 by-elections in the book, contributed by about a dozen observers ranging from journalists to researchers to political scientists, reveal how inept the EC has been, especially in not attending to electoral roll irregularities and preventing abuse of public institutions and corrupt practices.

In the Permatang Pauh by-election, for example, a voter was turned away from the polling station because on the electoral roll, he was said to be dead.

Furthermore, 949 voters were discovered to have disappeared from the constituency’s electoral roll. As the media reported the issue and the EC’s deputy chairman could not explain the disappearance, Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin called on the EC to investigate it. However, “no finding was revealed to the public”.

In Bukit Selambau, election watchdog Malaysians for Free and Fair Elections (MAFREL) backed the Opposition’s claim that more than 60% of the voters in a housing estate were phantom voters, but the EC merely dismissed it.

In fact, the picture that emerges from the 16 analyses is that many of the complaints and allegations made during the by-elections were not resolved afterwards.

On the whole, as the editors sum up in the final chapter, “the integrity of the electoral rolls in Malaysia is highly questionable”. Citing extensively from research done by political scientist Ong Kian Ming, they elaborate on unexplained deletions of names; unaccounted-for additions; high number of voters registered under the same address; unusually high increase of military/police voters (most markedly in Lembah Pantai, currently a Pakatan Rakyat seat held by Nurul Izzah Anwar, which has seen a 1,024% growth of such voters); and other manifestations.

EC Chairman Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof has declared that Malaysia has “the cleanest electoral rolls in the world”, with problematic registrations amounting to only 42,051 names, but according to Ong’s research findings, the number is closer to 3 million.

Whomever you choose to believe, the outlook is far from rosy. The editors believe the irregularities are caused by deliberate fraud rather than administrative or clerical errors. They consider the state we’re in an “Orwellian absurdity”.

On our part, we the public should be pressing for accountability from the EC and other related authorities. Although Democracy at Stake? does not suggest how we could go about doing this, it focuses attention on a serious issue of our political life.

It’s up to us now to protect our democratic right. Taking to the streets through the Bersih rallies has been done and resulted in some headway, but this is unlikely the way to achieve the ultimate goal.

We need to think of other ways to shake the powers that be to get the real democracy we deserve.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Could the information on registered voters be easier to access? With a few million citizens on the internet trawling the irregularities and the system suggested on :

;could help where the issue of 1000% rise in voter listings or buildings being registered as voters, or repeats in names occur should easily be fereted out with the suggested system. Who needs voting machines?

I really do not know whether to laugh or to cry – the standard of Democratic Principals in Malaysia has really fallen to a disgraceful and abysmal low after four decades of DAP-PakatanRakyat rule.

Last week, Malaysia suffered national and international humiliation when the Trends in International Judiciaryematics and Police Study ( TIMSS) 2011 reports were released, as the nation’s ranking in eighth-grade Judiciary fell from 20th in 2007 to 26th in 2011 while its ranking in Police fell by an even greater margin, from 21st in 2007 to 32nd in 2011. Our average Judiciarys score fell from 474 in 2007 to 440 and our average Police score fell by an even greater degree from 471 in 2007 to 426 in 2011, both far below the international average for both subjects in TIMSS 2011.

What is even worse, Malaysia also suffered the shame of being only one out of 6 countries out of 42 countries participating in the Judiciarys study and 45 countries participating in the Police study to see falls in both our Judiciarys and Police scores and ranking! Most of the other countries either improved their scores and rankings or stayed at their previous levels.

Setting bad examples

But the poor attainments of our civil servants in Judiciary and Police when compared to international student achievements is not the only bane of the Malaysian education system.

Another equally critical area where the Malaysian education system has failed miserably is the Democratic Principals subject, which was poignantly illustrated in the past 5 decades, placing me in the position of not knowing whether to laugh or to cry.

Yesterday, I issued a media statement where I said:

“I wish to apologise to the Prime Minister and DAP President,Lim Kit Siang and the DAP-PakatanRakyat leaders that I was elected into the DAP Central Executive Committee (CEC) at the 16th DAP National Congress – and with the highest votes.” I am really flabbergasted that there are DAP-PakatanRakyat leaders and supporters who took it literally to mean that I had realised the error of BN-Umno “misconduct” and that BN-Umno was belatedly admitting that Lim Kit Siang had been right.

It would be unthinkable that such a ludicrous situation in comprehension of the Democratic Principals could happen in Malaysia 40 years ago! (The Race Riots took 2 hands to clap, DAP was the dirty hand, but ALL Malaysians were punished instead, meanwhile DAP MPs have sat in power for decades and currently collect 20 times PROPOSED minimum wage of 900 . . . )

No such phrases in the Democratic Principals, dear Karpal (much less the 0.002% quorum crony NGO(quangocrat) based elections which takes tax payer monies. (300 NGO members voted, 1.5 million Penangites were left out and given inadequate time to vote or participate in voting, DAP however wants to INSULT the Rakyat by distributing money THIRD WORLD STYLE instead which could be used to ensure proper voting occured)

Recently, we have a Mentri Besar whose comprehension of Democratic Principals is so dismal that he could “invent”” figurative language in Democratic Principals only known to himself – when he talked about “sacrificing DAP’s Teoh Beng Hocks” and “jumping into the river” in Pahang if DAP should lose to 33rd Force in Bentong in the 13 general elections.

Everybody who searched the internet could only find figures of speech like “cutting the Kit Siang to spite Guan Eng” and “jump into the PAP” but no “cutting Karpals” or “jumping into the PAP”!

Of course, Malaysians will not forget about another Mentri Besar who claimed ignorance of Democratic Principals as to justify carrying lying about declarations of MP Assets to the Rakyat as a campaign manifesto for GE12 while taking 1 million or so every 4 year term of thr taxpayer monies then having the illegally appointed EXCO members declare assets in bait and switch instead! DAP is a party of multiple crises in term limitlessness and crony capitalism, including multiple crisis in nepotism.

Let us be serious about term limitlessness and crony capitalism, including multiple crisis in nepotism in parties like DAP, and stop making Malaysia an international joke. Listed below are the nepotist (also untalented and unprincipled) factions in DAP which the Rakyat must remove or run as candidates against :

RELATED REPOSTING WARNING ABOUT NEPOTISM

Please note the Oligarchs in Pakatan as listed below :

NEPOTISM IN PAKATAN RAKYAT

Three of the below must be challenged so that only a single candidate without relatives remains :

Lim Kit Siang (MP Ipoh Timur – Perak)

Lim Guan Eng (MP Air Puteh – Penang)

Chew Gek Cheng (Assemblyman Kota Laksamana – Malacca) Guan Eng’s wife

Lim Hui Ying Guan Eng’s sister (Vice-Chairman)

Two of the below must be challenged so that only a single candidate without relatives remains :

Karpal Singh (MP Jelutong – Penang)

Gobind Singh (MP Puchong – Selangor)

Karpal’s son Jagdeep Singh (Asssemblyman Dato Keramat – Penang)

Karpal’s son

Two of the below must be challenged so that only a single candidate without relatives remains :

Anwar Ibrahim (MP Permatang Pauh, Seberang Prai)

Wan Azizah Nurul Izzah Anwar(MP Lembah Pantai – Kuala Lumpur)

Anwar’s Daughter Also either Ngeh (Pantai Remis) or Nga (Sitiawan)

;must go to prevent 2nd degree nepotism and the kind of environment that caused DAP’s Kulasegaran, PKR’s Gobalakrishnan, to be kicked out possibly an act of racism but more likely at the order of the Lim Dynasty clique. BN of course we do not need to discuss, blocs of relatives galore.

HRP might very well be aware of some things we are not aware of to list some surprising choices as well, do not discount their reasons. PSM’s Jeyakumar appears to have been bought by BN though, so their viability is uncertain until PSM’s clique leadership changes. I have done some probing and casual calls to PSM, they are not very grassroots, DAP of course (also tried earlier) is far worse and absolutely TREACHEROUS and clique based and beholden to SINGAPORE’s PAP. I would not be surprised if the nepotists in DAP are rounded up a 2nd time, for collusions with Singapore to subvert Malaysian Federal authority instead amongst other things like ‘neurotech abuse’. Everyone else, should meanwhile stand as independents in any constituency with bad assemblymen or MPs or people who do not endorse term limits and asset declarations. Here’s something that will help voters decide if candidacy is not their thing or too expensive : Barisan – Apartheid, Corrupt and Nepotistic-Oligarchs Pakatan – Corrupt and Nepotistic-Oligarchs (excepting PAS) 3rd Force – Corrupt Only (watch Marina’s cliques as well) Pick the coalition with the least flaws. End the APARTHEID ! Destroy the Oligarchs in all political coalitions ! 3rd Force is best.

Truth By Consensus – How To Control Our Thinking – by Zen Gardner – Tuesday, December 4th, 2012

Funny how this works. People actually think they can arrive at the truth by averaging what they hear. Seriously. That’s how most people are taught to think. I get this argument all the time. It totally explains the power of the mass media. Just think about this dynamic. How do people arrive at conclusions? What information or lack thereof are they deriving them from? Pretty stark reality if you’re willing to look it in the eyes. People are incredibly similar in their outlook and understandings. And hence behaviors. Incredibly so. Like we’re following a script. Look at yourself. How you dress, the expressions you use, what you’re into. No matter what segment of society you’re living in, it’s pretty freaky. I remember when I decided to grow out my facial hair and looking in the mirror thinking, “Am I following some meme being broadcast by these bastards?”

Paranoid? Totally. It’s the only way on this planet. Completely healthy. If you’re not, you’re not awake yet. Truth is Never Popular. While a defined consensus gets established and reaffirms the status quo, “contrary” eddies of thought and realization make their way through the public psyche. These are carefully ferreted out by the watchdog media cabal and portrayed as “fringe” ideas and “conspiracy theories” of course. Carefully and dutifully packaged and sublimated into a negative subconscious arena for the mainstream unawakened. Anything contrary is now anathema, resented; spuriously thrown overboard as wing nut conspiracy talk. Typical. And more importantly…very effective and very efficient.

Getting To the Point

I’ll take Truth over BS fairy tales any day of eternity. No matter the pain and seeming loss of emotional or otherwise investments, bring on the Truth. 9/11 is always the standard reminder of how duped the world can be. Plain as the nose on your face those towers were brought down by some sort of exotic and carefully planned out demolition technique, but what the hell. No one cares. Or very few. At least that’s the portrayal we get and it seems to hold way too much water. People are even afraid to discuss the subject. That’s when you know society has been seriously hemmed in and headed for dismemberment. As obvious as it is, the Truth can just be right there without people being able to see it. It’s the condition of our “race”…we want to believe what we want and will cloak it in “positive thinking” or “idealism” or imposed bottom line security needs whenever we can for peace and comfort. Very, very sad from the Truth perspective, but oh so understandable. Blindness until awakened. What a tale. But behold the awakening in spite of all this!

Enter Psycho-Sexual Addiction

This psychological pandering we’re witnessing is simply a ploy to keep the masses asleep. The populace has been duped, hypnotized, seduced. It no longer can contain, maintain or control itself. It must have the savories and goodies of the system or it will go berserk. This addiction is firmly established. Football, advertising, game shows, reality dramas, zombie and vampire horror and sci-fi movies while sucking down addictive, poisonous foods………”Please bring it on! We want more! We want another reality, not our own!” Scantily dressed young girls, sculpted effeminized men, cross sexual weirdness of every type and genre…. …bring it on. Chaos is our new middle name–in fact, their manipulated shifting world is apparently our New Normal. ‘Chaos is the new normal’ is as cognitively dissonant as the ‘war on terrorism’. Orwell, you must be howling!

Summary

Know what you “believe” about not only their false structure, but our true reality, to the point it’s not a belief. Please know each of those as facts…not an emotional extension of some hope or sense of idealism. Be sure you’re deciding for yourself and not following anything unconsciously. We’re not used to that kind of truly independent thought, having been taught all our lives to just follow, obey and repeat, so it’s a lot of work and a set of muscles that have to be developed. You’ll see what I mean as it goes along. Affirming our conscious awakening in spirit, word and deed is our primary purpose and most potent weapon. Not only against the usurpers and the ignorance and darkness that seems to rule our current paradigm, but for the development and realization of the true conscious reality that is there to be expressed into this dimension. Get busy being and doing what you know is right and the rest will follow, I guarantee. Because that’s how it works. And do it in love. If we can wake up, anybody can. Love, Zen

“If you’re not free to follow life’s signs and live in synchronicity, you’re not free.” – Zen

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

. . . It must have the savories and goodies of the system or it will go berserk. . . . Chaos is our new middle name–in fact, their manipulated shifting world is apparently our New Normal. . . .

Actually savouries or goodies MUST not be considered such. Chaos is not ‘our’ new middle name, Chaos is not mainstream, Chaos is going to take a proper place WITHOUT punishment. There is no way ‘Chaos’ can co-opt you unless you are Chaotically inclined, and given the need of Chaos in evolution per se, I’d say Chaos is the very most important thing to ANY species which wants to move on, even as older structures become increasingly exotic and rarefied to the point of gaining value (in retarded areas of the 3rd world, the rare are villified much like LGBT, in the right places, the rare’d be exotic and invested in to ensure survival . . . ).

Religion would have taken the role of rare, but the overproliferation and low quality of followers, obvious internal rot and abusive nature of religion says that religion is already over-proliferated and people being subconsciously sick of religion, acting whatever in the only way they can, to sabotage religion much like pedo-priests protesting celibacy, Islamists protesting no alcohol and no pork rules by being violent, Buddhists acquiring car collections and much trappings of wealth and gold all around the temple (Temples to rampant-Capitalism and Greed), even as Buddha said to not be materialistic, can we see that the highest ranked in the faith actually do the most opposite? I wonder if I do enough ‘opposite’ I’d be the Ecclesiarch Primifex of the Planet . . .

. . . So get busy being and doing what you know is right and the rest will follow, I guarantee. Because that’s how it works. . . .

Don’t accidentally co-opt what is already known as your own!

@Zen appears to be quite fused with whatever mass mind or community hive @Zen is from (@Zen is less hive minded overall but still enough to identify that the mindset is still hivelike). Truth By Consensus problems as describe above are however correct. Subversive article with a good NLP positive article that disparages ‘Chaos’? Hard to say, but whatever we gravitate to, that is what we truly are, everything else is just nonsense, regardless of whatever laws or social trends, though spaces appropriate to size and facilities must be available to all and sundry in either case.

BEIJING, Dec. 3 (Xinhua) — China has expressed serious concern and firm opposition to a U.S. bill that regards China’s territory as under the authority of a U.S.-Japan security pact.

At a regular press briefing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told reporters, “The Chinese side expresses serious concern and firm opposition to the U.S. Senate’s amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act which involves the Diaoyu Island and its affiliated islets.”

In the bill, which the U.S. Senate passed last week, the United States reaffirmed that it “takes no position” on the ultimate sovereignty of the Diaoyu Islands. However, the bill notes that Japan has the rights of administration over the territory and that “unilateral actions of a third party” would not affect its position.

Hong said the Diaoyu Island and its affiliated islets have always been the inherent territory of China since ancient times, and China has undisputed sovereignty over the Diaoyu Islands.

According to the U.S. bill, any armed attack “in the territories under the administration of Japan” would be met under the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security.

Hong called the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan as a “product of the Cold War era”, saying it should not go beyond bilateral scopes, nor undermine the interests of a third party.

Hong said the U.S. side has repeatedly stated that it will not take sides on territory disputes between China and Japan.

He said the U.S. side “should not send out signals that conflict with each other.” He expressed the hope that the U.S. side would “proceed from the general situation of peace and stability of the region”, “keep its words” and “do more things that are conducive to peace and stability in the region.”

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

The islands were part of Chinese territory with an indigenous people that accepted vassalship under the Chinese Emperor until the 8 Foreign Powers invasion and later Japanese expansion in WW1 and 2. USA should understand that sovereignty loss during war cannot have legal continuity under occupiers or aggressors when the war ends. How would USA like for the Native Ameri-Indians to kick them back to Europe?

ARTICLE 2

Ooh Baby It’s a Wild World – by Daniel J. Flynn on 11.30.12 @ 6:08AM

It’s a jungle out there for transanimals.

The humans called Dennis Avner “Stalking Cat.” His kind referred to him as “meow.”

The cat-like Avner, who held the Guinness Book of World Records mark for body modifications — including a bifurcated lip, extensive tiger-stripe facial tattooing, surgically pointed ears, and silicone injections in the cheeks, chin, and forehead — died earlier this month.

The human authorities suspect he killed himself. I suspect humans, threatened that one of their own had defected to the cat community, killed him.

Human nature, alien to Stalking Cat, remains quite familiar with suicide. The dearth of documented cases of self-inflicted felicide raises suspicions. Only an Ace Ventura could definitively answer this whodunit. The one certainty here is that it’s a jungle out there for a person who realizes he, she, or it is an animal trapped in a human’s body.

Dennis Avner never found acceptance among mankind as a felid despite the plastic surgeries, the tattoos, and the silicone injections. He was, in a loose sense, a real-life Philip Nolan — a manimal without a species.

Biology is the new racism. The phobia against transanimals recalls the societal obstinacy regarding transgenders. We exiled them to the “third bathroom,” inscribed pesky reminders of their physiology on their driver’s licenses, and imprisoned them with criminals of the opposite gender. Some men still won’t consider dating a woman who was born a “man” — whatever that antiquated designation means. One surmises that Stalking Cat encountered similar prejudices among potential dating partners of all sexes and species.

Society’s rejection of transanimals results in their rejection of themselves. When a man splits his tongue, amputates his arms, and fuses his legs together to realize his inner serpent, society calls him crazy, a freak, and troubled — instead of what he is: a snake. We will become as sane as they are only when we finally see transanimals as they see themselves.

All this recalls the dark ages when we denied that one biologically born a male who surgically remade herself as female was as much a woman as your mother. Dennis Avner was as much a cat as Chastity Bono is a man.

Yet, many landlords won’t rent to transanimals. Their contracts stipulate “no pets.” Restaurants still post “no dogs allowed” signs. Public parks demand that you keep animals on a leash. Dennis Avner served in the Navy. But he did so in the form of a human being. The ban on transspecies soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines persists despite the obvious intimidation factor that a battalion of tiger-men would impose on the enemy.

What was Stalking Cat supposed to make of the many restrictions, formal and informal, that civilization imposed upon his wild spirit?

Transanimals face a gross double standard vis-à-vis transgenders. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services decrees that the Affordable Care Act forbids discrimination against transgendered patients within federally funded programs. U.S. District Judge Mark Wolf, a Reagan appointee, has ordered Massachusetts taxpayers to fund gender reassignment surgery for Michelle Kosilek, an inmate convicted of murdering his wife after she caught him in her clothes. Sixteen state governments find a compelling interest in forbidding employers from taking into account a man’s metamorphosis into a woman, or vice versa, when hiring and firing.

By what logic do these states, the federal judge, and HHS, which prohibit discrimination based on gender identity, then permit discrimination based on animal identity?

In fits of self-absolution, tormentors conveniently maintain that the extinction of Stalking Cat, along with a transgender suicide rate 25 times the general population’s, proves that self-mutilation begins a slow self-destruction that ends in one’s ultimate destruction. Society has dysphoria over sexual, and species, dysphoria. We lose some of our humanity when we don’t extend it to gharials, capybaras, and narwhals. Cats are people too.

Mourn Dennis Avner’s tragic demise. But celebrate the miracle of his longevity. While most house cats survive to about 15, Stalking Cat lived to 54. If you last that many years more, you will surely meet others of his kind.

The bodies of four people who had been shot to death were found face-down Sunday outside a suburban Southern California home that apparently served as an unlicensed boarding house, authorities said.

Los Angeles police were seeking a motive for the attacks at the house in Northridge, in the San Fernando Valley.

Lt. Terri Brinkmeyer said a 911 call led police to the large house around 4:30 a.m. Cmdr. Andrew Smith said the bodies of two men and two women were found face-down on a side yard of the property.

Investigators were questioning several people who were on the property at the time of the shooting, but no one has been detained or arrested.

Los Angeles City Councilman Mitchell Englander, who represents the area, said the house was split into several units for rent. He said at least a dozen people lived in the house, which contained several bedrooms, kitchenettes and mattresses on the floor.

“It appears from the nature of things that this was an unlicensed boarding facility,” Englander said from the crime scene. He noted that one bedroom was only accessible through a window.

The house was on street lined with houses, schools and places of worship.

“This is a very safe neighborhood. This type of thing doesn’t normally happen here,” Englander said.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Places of worship is the keyword here perhaps. Fundo alert. Or religion contrived sense of entitlement that caused strife with possible secularists.

CHICAGO — The now familiar term “Asperger’s disorder” is being dropped. And abnormally bad and frequent temper tantrums will be given a scientific-sounding diagnosis called DMDD. But “dyslexia” and other learning disorders remain.

The revisions come in the first major rewrite in nearly 20 years of the diagnostic guide used by the nation’s psychiatrists. Changes were approved Saturday.

Full details of all the revisions will come next May when the American Psychiatric Association’s new diagnostic manual is published, but the impact will be huge, affecting millions of children and adults worldwide. The manual also is important for the insurance industry in deciding what treatment to pay for, and it helps schools decide how to allot special education.

This diagnostic guide “defines what constellations of symptoms” doctors recognize as mental disorders, said Dr. Mark Olfson, a Columbia University psychiatry professor. More important, he said, it “shapes who will receive what treatment. Even seemingly subtle changes to the criteria can have substantial effects on patterns of care.”

Olfson was not involved in the revision process. The changes were approved Saturday in suburban Washington, D.C., by the psychiatric association’s board of trustees.

The aim is not to expand the number of people diagnosed with mental illness, but to ensure that affected children and adults are more accurately diagnosed so they can get the most appropriate treatment, said Dr. David Kupfer. He chaired the task force in charge of revising the manual and is a psychiatry professor at the University of Pittsburgh.

One of the most hotly argued changes was how to define the various ranges of autism. Some advocates opposed the idea of dropping the specific diagnosis for Asperger’s disorder. People with that disorder often have high intelligence and vast knowledge on narrow subjects but lack social skills. Some who have the condition embrace their quirkiness and vow to continue to use the label.

And some Asperger’s families opposed any change, fearing their kids would lose a diagnosis and no longer be eligible for special services.

But the revision will not affect their education services, experts say.

The new manual adds the term “autism spectrum disorder,” which already is used by many experts in the field. Asperger’s disorder will be dropped and incorporated under that umbrella diagnosis. The new category will include kids with severe autism, who often don’t talk or interact, as well as those with milder forms.

Kelli Gibson of Battle Creek, Mich., who has four sons with various forms of autism, said Saturday she welcomes the change. Her boys all had different labels in the old diagnostic manual, including a 14-year-old with Asperger’s.

“To give it separate names never made sense to me,” Gibson said. “To me, my children all had autism.”

Three of her boys receive special education services in public school; the fourth is enrolled in a school for disabled children. The new autism diagnosis won’t affect those services, Gibson said. She also has a 3-year-old daughter without autism.

People with dyslexia also were closely watching for the new updated doctors’ guide. Many with the reading disorder did not want their diagnosis to be dropped. And it won’t be. Instead, the new manual will have a broader learning disorder category to cover several conditions including dyslexia, which causes difficulty understanding letters and recognizing written words.

The trustees on Saturday made the final decision on what proposals made the cut; recommendations came from experts in several work groups assigned to evaluate different mental illnesses.

The revised guidebook “represents a significant step forward for the field. It will improve our ability to accurately diagnose psychiatric disorders,” Dr. David Fassler, the group’s treasurer and a University of Vermont psychiatry professor, said after the vote.

The shorthand name for the new edition, the organization’s fifth revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, is DSM-5. Group leaders said specifics won’t be disclosed until the manual is published but they confirmed some changes. A 2000 edition of the manual made minor changes but the last major edition was published in 1994.

Olfson said the manual “seeks to capture the current state of knowledge of psychiatric disorders. Since 2000 … there have been important advances in our understanding of the nature of psychiatric disorders.”

Catherine Lord, an autism expert at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York who was on the psychiatric group’s autism task force, said anyone who met criteria for Asperger’s in the old manual would be included in the new diagnosis.

One reason for the change is that some states and school systems don’t provide services for children and adults with Asperger’s, or provide fewer services than those given an autism diagnosis, she said.

Autism researcher Geraldine Dawson, chief science officer for the advocacy group Autism Speaks, said small studies have suggested the new criteria will be effective. But she said it will be crucial to monitor so that children don’t lose services.

Other changes include:

—A new diagnosis for severe recurrent temper tantrums — disruptive mood dysregulation disorder. Critics say it will medicalize kids’ who have normal tantrums. Supporters say it will address concerns about too many kids being misdiagnosed with bipolar disorder and treated with powerful psychiatric drugs. Bipolar disorder involves sharp mood swings and affected children are sometimes very irritable or have explosive tantrums.

—Eliminating the term “gender identity disorder.” It has been used for children or adults who strongly believe that they were born the wrong gender. But many activists believe the condition isn’t a disorder and say calling it one is stigmatizing. The term would be replaced with “gender dysphoria,” which means emotional distress over one’s gender. Supporters equated the change with removing homosexuality as a mental illness in the diagnostic manual, which happened decades ago.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

People are weird and different. The Victorian Era destroyed LGBT and butchered half the world’s indigenous cultures, many of which were LGBT friendly. The Victorian Era also propagated Christianity, which subsumed and destroyed many native faiths as well as subverted many world citizens into colonial mindsets that still persist this day. The English were expelled from the USA, sadly the Christian faith still is afflicting many populations worldwide. The English incidentally were the Angles, a group of GERMANIC outcasts that murdered the Celtic and Nordic cultures of the Isles, occupied thier lands, and butchered all the way through Africa, India and later China destroying lives, cultures and native religions for mere ‘paganism’ (those who didn’t want to belive in ‘god’ were heathens and ‘soulless’ needed to be murdered in those days . . . no end.

Onion editor: Tricking China has a “certain delightfulness”
A Chinese news site takes an Onion satire for a real story
The Onion declares North Korean leader Kim Jong Un “sexiest man alive”
People’s Daily Online runs portions of the Onion story and 55 photos of Kim

(CNN) — China, as one Twitter user wrote Tuesday, has been fooled by the “mysterious Western art of satire.”

The merciless comedy website The Onion has declared North Korean leader Kim Jong Un the “sexiest man alive for 2012.” And it appears China’s People’s Daily Online has taken the story seriously.

The Chinese story reprinted satirical comments describing Kim’s “air of power that masks an unmistakable cute, cuddly side,” his “impeccable fashion sense, chic short hairstyle, and,” the story says, “that famous smile.”
A Chinese state-run site was fooled Tuesday by a satirical story that declared North Korea\’s Kim Jong Un the \
A Chinese state-run site was fooled Tuesday by a satirical story that declared North Korea’s Kim Jong Un the “sexiest man alive.”

The story on People’s Daily Online on Tuesday illustrates the mutual backscratching that China and North Korea exercise through their government-run media. The incident also shows foreign media outlets’ difficulty in navigating The Onion’s brand of satire.

The Chinese website had underscored its story by including its own 55-page photo gallery to accompany the text, which was published in both English and Chinese. But the pages and the images were no longer available Wednesday.

A woman responding to a call Wednesday to the office of the website said it was “impossible that the People’s Daily will quote from any unreliable media — we do verify our news and sources.”

The woman, who declined to identify herself, noted that the item had been removed.

The People’s Daily Online has a separate office from the print version of the Chinese Communist Party’s main newspaper.

Tracy said he’s not surprised when legitimate news sites fall for his high-level tomfoolery, but this was the first time The Onion had named a “sexiest man alive.” “We knew it would get a response,” he said “but we didn’t expect it would get life from abroad.”

A satirical post on The Onion congratulated the People’s Daily for its coverage.

The site “has served as one of the Onion’s Far East bureaus for quite some time, and I believe their reportage as of late has been uncommonly fine, as well as politically astute,” said The Onion’s Grant Jones in a e-mail statement. “May our felicitous business association continue for centuries to come.”

Yes. Again. If this scenario sounds familiar it’s because The Onion is no stranger to fooling government-run news outlets.

In September, an Onion satire fooled Iran’s semi-official Fars News Agency. Fars published an Onion story claiming that a Gallup poll found that rural white Americans preferred Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad over President Barack Obama.

On the Chinese microblog Sina Weibo, netizens made their own teasing comments about People’s Daily.

“Foolish foreigners, the party paper was born to be funny,” wrote @sheldon-BaiBai.

“The world was fooled by the People’s Daily, because no Chinese believes this paper,” wrote @Hai_Dao_Wu_Bian.

The Onion never writes its stories with the intention of fooling government agencies, Tracy said. But “it’s great when it happens. We hope it happens more often.”

This prank, he said with obvious glee, may turn out to be the legendary Onion fake story that veterans will talk about for years to come. “We essentially just fooled the government of China.”

CNN’s Jethro Mullen and CY Xu contributed to this report.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Remember the boy who cried wolf? And if this is intended to harrass the foreign media, The Onion is just inviting the Chinese to do the same to foreign media portals. If this becomes rampant, then news on the internet will become rubbish or manipulative unreadable agenda laden nonsesne, and the MSM papers which will still remain propaganda, become more influencial and manipulative of the citizens locally until the dark pre-info-ages take hold again through sheer contrivedness and agenda loaded inaccuracy of articles. The Onion is opening a can of worms that could down all online media or online media accuracy if not careful . . . If the CNN, BBC and Peoples Daily or whatever online media do not remain strictly accurate in reporting, above the fray of b.s., the world will be poorer for the lack of ethics for preference of manipulation to bad ends.

Sometimes a highly individualistic name for a baby is not good news for a kid, says Dean Obeidallah

Dean Obeidallah: A new list of popular 2012 baby names includes Siri, Mac, Luna
He says it’s not just celebrities with offbeat baby-naming now; it’s spreading to the rest of us
He says studies show distinctive names can spur teasing and mistreatment
Obeidallah: Parents, think twice on names; it could have long-term effect on your child

Editor’s note: Dean Obeidallah, a former attorney, is a political comedian and frequent commentator on various TV networks including CNN. He is the editor of the politics blog “The Dean’s Report” and co-director of the upcoming documentary “The Muslims Are Coming!” Follow him on Twitter: @deanofcomedy

(CNN) — Siri, Mars, Mac and Luna. I’m not talking Apple products or planetary terms. These are baby names. And not just any baby names but ones that have jumped in popularity in 2012, according to Baby Center.com’s just released list.

Baby Siri? Seriously, who would name their bundle of joy after a frustrating Apple product that hardly ever works? And speaking of Apple (see daughter of Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin,) that name moved up a whopping 585 places on the list of names for girls born in 2012. So there could conceivably be a family out there with a daughter named Apple and a son named Siri. (Hope that entitles the family to a discount on an iMac.)

There was a time when bizarre baby naming was something only celebrities did to their kids (as if being the child of a celebrity wasn’t challenging enough). There’s Beyonce and Jay Z’s Blue Ivy, Penn Jillette’s son, Moxie Crimefighter, Bono’s daughter Memphis Eve, actor Jason Lee’s son Pilot Inspektor, and the list goes on and on.

But now this “condition” is apparently spreading to the rest of us. In addition to the offbeat names above, 2011 saw babies sporting such names as: Moo, Draper, Graceland and Tequila.

There are even media reports that this past weekend some parents allegedly named their newborn daughter, Hashtag. That one may turn out to be an Internet hoax, but after last year’s story of a child in Egypt being named Facebook (in praise of the role Facebook played in the Egyptian revolution), we can’t be too far from babies named Retweet and Spam Blocker anyway. It truly is only a matter of time until you meet a kid named DVR or Playstation 3.
Become a fan of CNNOpinion
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Apparently some parents believe that giving their child a jaw-dropping name will make him or her more distinctive. News flash: it’s not the name that makes your child stand out, it’s his or her achievements.

While I don’t want to rain on creativity, let’s be honest — these weird names are more about parents showing off their “cleverness” than about finding a name that fits the child. It’s not like the parents got to know the child first for a few months and then said, “You know this baby really is a little Siri.”
Beyonce, Jay-Z welcome baby Blue Ivy
Jolie: We are all Malala

And do these parents even consider that a baby’s name can cause consequences for the child that the parents never imagined, and in many areas of the child’s life? When I reflect upon my own name, I realize that my life could have been far different if my parents had followed their initial instincts when naming me.

My Palestinian father wanted to name me Saladin after the famous Muslim leader, while my Sicilian mother wanted to name me Dino. Instead they compromised on Dean.

Growing up in North Jersey, Dean was not a common name. But it actually made me feel different in a good way being the only Dean in my class. And even today in looking at the list of baby names for 2012, I was actually happy that Dean was not in the top 100.

Still, the truth is, if I’d been named Dino, I would have certainly been viewed as more ethnic by teachers, potential employers and co-workers. I would have been required to continually overcome cultural stereotypes.

And if I’d been named the very Arabic Saladin Obeidallah, you could just imagine all the “fun” I would have had in post-9/11 America. I would have likely volunteered for “random” security checks at the airport to make it easier for all involved or simply got used to taking the bus cross country.

But there’s a difference between a name that isn’t overly common and naming your child after your favorite appliance. A name is a big part of a kid’s identity. It can trigger impressions about a child even before we meet him or her — a particular problem among the closed-minded of the world, but this is the world your child will have to navigate.

For example, studies have found that children with names that linguistically sound like they come from a lower socioeconomic status are less likely to be recommended by school officials for gifted classes and actually more likely to be labeled as learning disabled.

Other research has revealed that boys with feminine sounding names — such as Shannon or Ashley — have had more disciplinary problems in school because of their response to teasing. Still other studies have found a link between how much people like their own names and their level of self-esteem.

So, parents, keep in mind that your choice of name will have a lasting impact on your child — both for good and bad. And if you insist on picking a bizarre name for the baby, then I propose that your child be empowered to rename you with any name he or she chooses. At least then it’s fair that a child named Hashtag has parents named Angry Birds and YouTube.

Follow us on Twitter @CNNOpinion.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

In the past there were in some cultures NAMING CEREMONIES AT ADULTHOOD. The child would choose a name LATER, and all children knew their names when young were TEMPORARY and that parents chose those names. Sometimes what the child did that was most unique would also decide what that child was RENAMED at adulthood. So ‘Hashtag’ away and legalise/normalise name changing at the age of 21. Knowing that names are temporary and chosen by parents, kids would not be affected by teasing because they knew they were going to change that name, or the teasers would not bother to tease knowing the name would also change by then.

Shocked complainant said she would never walk her dog in Oropi Park, New Zealand, again
Andrew Pointon, 47, was charged with offensive behaviour for his naked runs
But appeal judge agrees that naked body by itself is not offensive

The right to go jogging in the nude has been upheld by the High Court in New Zealand.

Andrew Lyall Pointon, 47, was wearing only a pair of shoes when he was spotted by a woman while running at 8.30am in a forest near Tauranga in August last year.

She called police and he was arrested during another nude run.

Pointon was charged with offensive behaviour and found guilty in Tauranga District Court last December.

An appeal was thrown out in June, but a second appeal has just been upheld by Justice Paul Heath in the High Court at Tauranga.

‘If it was [offensive] then God wouldn’t have given us genitals,’ Mr Pointon told The Dominion Post.

‘It is a win for all libertarians and a setback for all conservatives in the country.’

The judge, Justice Heath, compared the situation to passing ‘gang members’ walking through the park.

He said: ‘It would not be surprising for a person in the position of the complainant to be concerned and discomforted by their presence, and even to feel threatened.

‘However, on any view, their behaviour would not be regarded as offensive behaviour.

‘Should the sight of a naked man, in the circumstances in which the complainant found herself, be treated any differently? I think not.’

He added that he felt Pointon was ‘a genuine naturist’ who had taken measures to avoid disturbing others – such as choosing a time when children would be unlikely to be on the track.

But Family First spokesman Bob McCoskrie said he was disappointed and said Justice Heath’s decision shows ‘double standards’.

He asked: ‘Is it okay for someone to streak through his courtroom? He’d be the first one to put them in the cells.’
Picturesque: The jogger was spotted close to Tauranga harbour in New Zealand

Picturesque: The jogger was spotted close to Tauranga harbour in New Zealand

Naturist Mr Pointon said he enjoyed the freedom of not wearing clothes and began running naked about 18 months ago.

The complainant, who was out walking her dog when she spotted Pointon, said she was so offended that she did not wish to ever return to the Oropi Bike Park.

But Pointon lashed out at the woman who complained.

He said: ‘It’s just ludicrous. Has this person got nothing better to do than wasting everyone’s time?

‘All she saw was a naked man running through the bush. It was just a fleeting moment, which has cost us all.

‘It just shows that it was a stupid decision by police to go ahead … and charge me for something totally irrelevant.’

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Perhaps a nudist’s track to keep the 2 different groups seperate.

ARTICLE 7

A Good Example of Forms and Blogospheres Littered with NLPs : 2012, I am tired – Topic started on 9-12-2012 @ 02:48 AM by TheAlmo – reply posted on 9-12-2012 @ 03:00 AM by xxshadowfaxx

I just want the date to come. Lots of mystery surround it, lots of theories, but no one knows a damn thing.

If anything is going to happen, its going to be something we haven’t seen before. Something the ancients tracked 25000 years ago. No one alive today can possibly know what it is. We don’t even know for sure if we have the right date. All the math is very precise and it seems that dec 21 is certainly a good possibility, but we may be off by hundreds of years. All we can do is wait and see.

Soon you won’t have to worry about it anymore because it is only 12 days away now. Whatever happens, happens, theres nothing anyone can do about it.

Also, its definitely possible to be love. Love is a state of being, and beneath all your problems, all your thoughts, is a state of love. When you can learn to silence the mind, and learn how to move energy through your chakras, you will find yourself in a state of love. It is beautiful to experience. All the people that talk about are trying to tell you something, and most of us ignore it completely. But the answers to all questions truely do lie within us. Once you be love, once you attain that state, you are given knowledge about who you are, what you are, and what your purpose is. You will experience the divine.

Commentator Response

I am tired you guys. Enough. This is insane.

The amount of 2012 topics on ATS and everywhere is staggering. It seems everyone takes a shot at it. Everyone. You guys turned the year 2012 into a prostitute year that everyone can buy and f*** for a while.

The problem is that I go through phases. Sometimes, I just really don’t pay attention at all and I don’t even try to rationalize or criticize the material I am exposed to. Other times, I find myself so angry about it and digging deep to find every logical fallacy there is. You know why this happens to me? Because:

1- My mood changes from time to time
2- The 2012 shower is an everlasting one that never ever stops.

What do you mean if I don’t “embrace” the change I won’t feel anything and December 21 will be just another day?

Can this lunacy get anymore vile and degrading to our intellect? I am sorry, but even the most spiritual practices can be “practicalized” if you know what I mean. You can ask me to actively stop thinking about people that I hate or that I even hate them. I can do that. But what do you mean when you say “Be Love”? How can someone be love? Can you be Batman? A sandwich? I don’t know. Be love? Embrace change? This all reminds me of an incident when I was a kid walking by a public swimming pool and a guy was teaching his 6-ish years old son to swim by saying: maintain your balance… don’t drown.

Yeah… the best thing to say to tell someone who’s drowning: yell at them: don’t drown. dude, not cool, you’re gonna die, maintain your balance. work physics to make it happen.

I am tired of this nonsensical spiritual masturbation.

What about doom and gloom?

Are you gonna tell me where to go? What to do? Or just scream around and run all over the place like a fuc*** moron? What? No place to go? Nothing to do? Where is the warning then? It’s not like you’re gonna say “told you so” later.

I am tired of this. It’s too much. It’s everywhere. Everywhere I go.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Thats the problem with the people. The laws written cause this, so vote for a candidate not of the 1% (plutocrat or political nepotist) or run as candidate yourself if there is no such candidate. Write and ratify laws to distribute national wealth and unused national land (the country belongs to all citizens so why should a handful of GLC cronies get everything, even the land and wealth from natural resources belong to the people and must be shared to reserved for a handful of politicians who can be easily identified if mega-wealthy), and end the raison d’etre for NLP articles. This way there will be enough harmony so that the world need not end, or if the world ends, everyone was happy anyway.

ARTICLE 8

How The Cost of a Degree is Now £100,000 – Posted on December 9, 2012 by Zen-Haven – Author: Paul Gallagher

The true cost of a university degree will rocket to up to £100,000 for today’s students, The Independent on Sunday can reveal.

Thousands of people currently studying at university will end up paying that amount over their career because of interest charges and other fees – several times the £27,000 or £36,000 in fees that most three- and four-year courses charge.

The landmark figure, revealed in the Government’s own documents, is far higher than the £70,000 in repayments that it was previously thought students would end up paying over their lifetimes. The Government figures confirm that graduates who find well-paid jobs – in finance and law, for example – will be able to save tens of thousands of pounds by paying off their loans more quickly than the vast majority of their counterparts on middle incomes.

Even before they started in September, every student was hit with a hidden charge: for repayment purposes, the total cost of tuition is backdated to day one, meaning that the majority of the 300,000 three-year students and 117,000 four-year students currently studying will graduate with an extra £3,300 or £5,000 bill respectively, according to the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) website. Many students will repay up to four times the cost of their tuition during the 30 years following graduation, after which any remaining debt is written off.

Add in other living costs and average student debt is now predicted to hit £53,000 by graduation. Accountants say billions of pounds of student debt will never be repaid, leaving “a massive tax time bomb” for generations to come.

Based on the Government’s figures, almost 300,000 students – 70 per cent of those studying – who started university in the autumn will repay between £65,000 and £85,000, while those in the highest income bracket pay back less because they will start to pay off their debts sooner. About 10 per cent who are in the “squeezed middle” could end up paying back between £85,000 and £100,000. The 20 per cent of graduates with the lowest lifetime earnings (a group dominated by women) will never come close to repaying their fees and the debt will be written off after 30 years.

The Government’s own projections lay out details of what students and graduates would owe at the start of each year in interest and repayment charges. What graduates pay back each month depends on their earnings: 9 per cent of income above £21,000 a year, independent of both the interest rate and the size of the loan. The amount due increases with time because interest is added. A 28-year-old male beginning a three-year course and whose starting salary of £21,000 quickly rises to £60,000 in year four, and is a six-figure salary by year 15, will settle his bill in 13 years, repaying just over £42,000. A woman who earns less than a third of that in her lifetime and who begins work a few years after graduating repays almost £62,000 over 28 years. A woman in her twenties who earns less than £1m in her career and takes time out to have a family will pay back less than £20,000, leaving an unpaid debt of almost £60,000. Scottish students in Scotland have their fees paid, while students in Northern Ireland pay a maximum £3,575 a year tuition.

Peter West, financial director at Portal, a computer company in Bracknell, Berkshire, said: “No one is aware of the long-term implications of this accounting wheeze. Higher education reform is a victimless crime and a massive tax time bomb. The Government has simply shifted all the debt off the accounting sheet for now – but, my God, will it come back and hit us in 30 years’ time.”

Susan Cooper, professor of experimental physics from the University of Oxford, said: “If the £21,000 repayment threshold doesn’t increase with inflation, the requirement for repayment can become much more onerous over the 30-year period. And maybe the 30 years could be increased as well. The higher the costs, the more the Government has to write off 30 years later. One could have wished for a more thorough thinking through of the consequences before being launched into this experiment.”

The University and College Union general secretary, Sally Hunt, said: “The Government rushed through higher fees without properly considering the financial consequences. We warned at the time that fees close to £9,000 a year would be the norm and that the calculations for repayment by graduates were flawed.”

A spokesperson for BIS said: “Extending the write-off period to 30 years was fully costed as part of the whole repayment system. The new system helps reduce the deficit, is affordable and sustainable for the Government, while offering protection for those who may not go on to high-paid employment.”

Chuka Umunna, Labour business spokesman, said: “Students will never forgive this government for hiking up the costs of going to university. This figures show that, as ever, it is middle- and lower-income families who are being hit hardest.”

The NUS president, Liam Burns, added: “It is shocking that politicians treat the potential of a generation before they have even started their working career with such nonchalance.”

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

The problem is that the establishment (or NWO) has already decided which people friendly to the regime of the day will get the top jobs that can actually influence policy or social culture. So even before enrollment or payment, those who are not on the same wavelength of the Education-STUDENT-DEBT-Financiar Complex (nominlly fused with the dominant religious institutions of the region – if these are not insane or hated or indulging in pedophilia) had better not even bother with ‘Education’ and instead learn how to vote and educate others on how to vote. The system is stacked EVEN at education level and hardly neutral. Identify this and act accordingly by refusing to spend anything on education. Free spirits beware, the mob mentality of society comprised with useless eaters only enriches the 1% term limitless plutocrats and political nepotists.

ARTICLE 9

Celebration of the Nudists of the 2010s : Ai Weiwei investigated over nude art – Chinese artist says he is under investigation for spreading pornography, after pictures including One Tiger Eight Breasts

Ai Weiwei is under investigation for spreading pornography, the Chinese artist has said, as the authorities turned their attention from political subversion and tax evasion to online images of nudity.

He said police had questioned his cameraman Zhao Zhao on Thursday over pictures Zhao had taken of the artist. “They clearly told him this is an investigation, now, they are doing on me, on pornography,” Ai told the AFP news agency.

One of the pictures, One Tiger Eight Breasts, shows Ai posing nude on a wooden chair flanked by four naked women who are giggling and smiling.

“Netizens came to take photos with me, so we said why don’t we take nudity photos, then everybody agreed so we did it and they were put on the internet, and that’s it, we forget about it,” Ai said.

This year Ai has been held for 81 days in a secret location, questioned about subversion and then accused of tax evasion and given a fine of 15m yuan. Several of his assistants have been detained for lengthy periods and interrogated about Ai’s political beliefs, business and personal life.

His lawyers say the investigations are politically motivated to silence Ai, who has used his high profile to speak out on police brutality, official corruption and human rights violations.

Police have been reluctant to discuss his case and there has been little or no coverage in most domestic media outlets. But the Communist party newspaper Global Times said on Wednesday that dissidents such as Ai could only exist because of the support of the west.

“For 30 years Ai Weiweis have emerged and fallen. But China has kept rising despite their pessimistic predictions. The real social trend is that they will be eliminated in the rising process of China,” said a comment article in the paper.

Ai has attempted to turn the tables by mounting an internet campaign against his accusers. He says 30,000 people contributed a total of more than 8m yuan to his online appeal for loans to challenge his tax fine.

A pornography or obscenity charge based on the pictures revealed so far is likely to incur ridicule and anger among Ai’s supporters. Many Chinese contemporary artists have appeared naked in their work.

Ai said police had previously questioned him about the images, but he doubted they understood art. “If they see nudity as pornography, then China is still in the Qing dynasty,” he told Associated Press.

Ai Weiwei with EVEN MORE nudists. The CPCC and PLA need not fear this wall of human flesh led by a scruffy semi-geezer, fear is in the mind China!

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

This is not for everyone BUT, this is an acid test of human rights and civil society. Hey frumpOs, if you had the aesthetic, you’d be as sex positive and body confident enough to use nakeness and beauty as weapons to shame the ugliness of society and the establishment instead of attacking nudism and snarking on morality. So stop victimising naked persons, that counts for MALE body parts too . . . so about a decade ago there was this activist who really didn’t know why until now . . . WHOS STILL WRITING TO END APARTHEID . . . Nudism is COURAGE and PETA is not exactly at the level of anti-apartheid activity.

PETA Nudists.

Perhaps Nelson Mandela should visit Ai Weiwei and learn something missed, though this does not make for mainstream just yet but we early birds are the most well loved birds, so see Israeli women have taken a nude group photo to express solidarity with Aliaa Magda Elmahdy . . . and look at non-Muslims getting arrested for Khalwat in Muslim countries. Monyet dan Anjing! Hunga bunga! Bulaklak!

Ladies, if you’re a Lursa or a B’etor everyone will understand why the preference to stay covered is there, BUT no understanding will be offered to those who hate on all of the above people who dare to be nudist or go nude for their cause. Same to the narrow gents. What’s YOUR cause Frumpos? Snarking at people who try to change the world? Who try to end apartheid? Who challenge status quo?

Nudists Nuns in Russia marching against Putin’s 3rd term??? . . .

The more ‘faithful’ they are the more brittle the faith . . . hence the term ‘cracker’ . . . so go hide your daughters and get out your shotguns. (this is intended to remind those without 2nd amendment rights to know how good hillbillies live in the USA, no other reason . . . ). Aight back to surfing porn and drinking horse, pork and beef flavoured beer . . .

Nudists in Paris.

Israeli Nudists for St.Alia.

Pussy Riot – Russia.

Nudist Zones in China (at least zones exist . . .)

This is not a nudist gathering but rather an English advert.

So the next time someone is dressed like this, just keep that mouth shut. Bikini’s are skimpier and even if out of context, nudism is not even sexual activity per se. The clothes on this woman are actually kinda wholesome, even with the neons . . .

mini-ARTICLE 9.5

Woman Has Baby At Upstate New York Zoo : There was no time to get the expectant mother to hospital after she suddenly went into labour on Friday. – 8:33pm UK, Saturday 08 December 2012 – Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse, New York

A New York state zoo has had a surprise visit – from the stork.

A woman went into labour on Friday and gave birth on a path at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse.

The 21-year-old woman, who was visiting the zoo with a group, had a baby girl with help from keepers not far from the bear exhibit.

Zoo worker Liz Schmidt told The Post-Standard that she heard about the situation and rushed to find the woman already pushing out the baby.

“I honestly didn’t expect her to deliver at the zoo,” Ms Schmidt said. “I thought we’d pop her in a wheelchair and she’d be good to go to the hospital.”

Other workers arrived with blankets to keep the mother and baby warm, and the zoo’s elephant expert herded away curious visitors.

An ambulance soon arrived to take the newborn to a hospital. A hospital representative declined to discuss the mother or baby’s medical conditions for privacy reasons.

Zoo Director Ted Fox said the attraction plans to send a gift to the family.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Nice . . . so Penang gets another beast among their ranks what was being snatched? Zoo animals conceiving? Now we understand why cheaters never prosper and why (some) Asians REALLY do not have Human Souls. That which is not one’s may never belong by theft or strength in numbers, more so on the spiritual level. How about another invasion of the 3rd world before the pariahs get too strong. Those who play by the rules need not worry, by now most of the ‘invaders’ should be able to identify the whos who among pariahs and among the rich and politically connected are plenty of pariahs.

Dmitry Medvedev has been caught making some unusual comments off-air after failing to realise television cameras were still rolling.

The Russian prime minister let his guard down after an interview with five Russian television stations – offering his strange views on Father Christmas and aliens as well as taking a pot shot at President Vladimir Putin and the federal police.

“I believe in Father Frost. But not too deeply. But anyway, you know, I’m not one of those people who are able to tell the kids that Father Frost does not exist,” he said in a jovial reply to a question about Russia’s equivalent of Santa Claus.

He went on to take a jab at Mr Putin for his frequent lateness for meetings after he was more than hour late for an event in southern Russia.

“Colleagues, somebody should be extremely punctual, while somebody else is exhausting all the limits for being late,” he said.

The comments invited a satirical reaction on the Internet which is unlikely to help Mr Medvedev, whose power has been ebbing since Mr Putin took over as president.
RUSSIA-GOVERNMENT-POLITICS-MEDVEDEV The prime minister speaking to the TV stations that caught him off-air

In the interview itself, Mr Medvedev underlined his allegiance to the president in a likely bid to dismiss rumours he is about to be fired.

In an unexpected move, the liberal-leaning prime minister defended Kremlin-backed laws which critics say will be used to stifle dissent.

But in the off-air comments, he was more frank.

When a journalist complained about federal investigators arriving to search the home of a witness in an inquiry early in the morning, Mr Medvedev said: “They are just jerks, so they come at eight in the morning.

“It’s just their set of habits. I know many people who work in the police. They think if they come at seven in the morning they will get everything in the world.”

Another of the journalists asked whether the president is handed secret files on aliens when he receives the briefcase needed to activate Russia’s nuclear arsenal.

“Along with the briefcase with nuclear codes, the president of the country is given a special ‘top secret’ folder. This folder in its entirety contains information about aliens who visited our planet,” Mr Medvedev answered playfully.

“Along with this, you are given a report of the absolutely secret special service that exercises control over aliens on the territory of our country…

“More detailed information on this topic you can get from a well-known movie called Men In Black… I will not tell you how many of them are among us because it may cause panic,” he said.

None of the television stations that interviewed Medvedev broadcast the off-air comments.

Russians mocked the prime minister on the internet.

“It’s sad when the former president and current prime minister of your country is simply a pathetic person,” Yekaterina Kudinova wrote on Twitter.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Not strange at all but with the kind of Russian subtlty that bore Russia a Marx. Medvedev has a OCCULT (or Techno advanced derived) CONSCIENCE which could be tranlated into OCCULT (or Techno advanced derived) ETHICS which can translate into (or Techno advanced derived) MORALLY AFFLUENT LAWS. This is my strange response to Medvedev’s strange off air comments. Expositions on methodology will lead to spiritual cleanliness and less hive mindedness and less mob mindedness, these many headed “non-individuals” Medvedev is referring to are the true criminals of Humanity that need to have the worst happen to them.

A one-on-one between exes is not the same as mass parasitisation, and we all know where spiritual parasites are going, those who do not produce and only take, as “Useless Eaters” are bound for the Auswictzs’ of the future (and past). In other words, do your own work or (spiritual homework) and choose your fights carefully and with respect, millions of spirits will be seeking their payment for their untimely deaths and that will be the ‘hell’ everyone keeps talking about . . . vote Medevedev for the next Sec. Gen. of the UN and we might see a better world if Medevedev applies entirely such principles within the SPIRITUAL update of the UN Human Rights Charter. Here’s one for the morally affluent non-cops and non-parasites . . . lets shine a light on all degenerates who won’t even think for themselves . . .

MALIBU, Calif. (AP) — No government agency is taking action to remove the decaying carcass of a whale on a California beach, making it appear the job will be left to Mother Nature.

The corpse of the huge fin whale created a spectacle on Friday as people wandered down the narrow Malibu beach to look at the remains — white bones, rolls of blubber and the tail flukes trailing along the water’s edge.

The homes of movie stars, celebrities and others line the cliffs high above the slender beach.

Looking over the whale, Malibu resident Ben Dossett suggested there was now no need to try to remove it.

“You look at the difference between what it was on Tuesday to what it is today. I think they can just leave it and let nature take its course,” he said.

The smell had largely faded away, but still attached to the shoes of those who came near. Some people took pictures, a boy poked the bones and dogs sniffed it.

“It’s really sad that this is my first time seeing a whale,” said Ingrid De La O, a Malibu resident. “It’s mind-boggling to see this immense huge thing that lives in the water.”

The 40-foot-long, 40,000-pound juvenile male washed ashore Monday near Point Dume, which marks the western end of Santa Monica Bay, about 30 miles west of downtown Los Angeles.

“From the evidence that we have so far, it appears that it was hit by a ship,” said Jonsie Ross, marine mammal coordinator for the California Wildlife Center.

James Respondek, a real estate agent who lives in the area, worried that the carcass would draw sharks that could pose a threat to his young daughter, who swims in the cove, and to his favorite surfing spot down the beach. He said he was frustrated that no agency would remove the carcass.

“There seems to be no readiness to take responsibility, to take action, just a lot of excuses. ‘I don’t have a boat, I don’t have the money, I don’t have the resources,’ they all told me,” he said.

Fin whales are endangered, and about 2,300 live along the West Coast. They’re the second-largest species of whale after blue whales and can grow up to 85 feet, weigh up to 80 tons and live to be 90 years old.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Austerity leads to political caution? Cost saving and avoiding use of crony contractors (in this case whale cleaning crews companies which the government cleverly decided not to pay with taxpayer funds by, or where the links were so obvious they did not want to expose their political flank for) is good for the taxpayers and respect of tax fund access, and who knows a clever reference to Kim Schmidt that MSM should play on . . . the cleanup might cost a few thousand which could go to the starving or homeless, instead of a crony company. The local bars could take a look at the below article btw, a potential money making and indirect clean up courtesy of the local oceanside bars, though killings of mostly endangered whales intentionally by ship owners should be very carefully watched for . . .

Owen Roberts was an Oxford graduate, a man of dazzling intellect and gentle wit, who met Ann when they were both young broadcast journalists

Ann Clwyd had presumed that when her husband was admitted to a flagship teaching hospital, the staff charged with caring for him would do just that. It was not an outrageous assumption.

She did not imagine that he would die ‘like a battery hen’, squashed against the bars of his bed.

She did not anticipate that he would deteriorate catastrophically because, she feels, those entrusted to look after him were guilty of ‘indifference, contempt and callousness’.

She had expected that her gentle and genial husband, Owen Roberts, who suffered from multiple sclerosis, would be accorded care and kindness.

Instead, six weeks ago, he died, aged 73, of pneumonia he had contracted while at the University Hospital of Wales, in Cardiff, as she sat helpless at his side.

This week, Ann, 75, the Labour MP for Cynon Valley, and a redoubtable campaigner for the rights of the oppressed, steeled herself to make her private grief public.

She did so not for political aggrandisement but to try to spare others similar suffering.

Ann spoke out shortly after Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt admitted that poor standards of care are one of the biggest problems facing the NHS; that in the worst cases, hospital staff are overseeing ‘a kind of normalisation of cruelty’.

And she wept in the House of Commons this week when she asked the Prime Minister what he intended to do about nurses who fail to show compassion for their patients.

When I met her in her parliamentary office later, she was composed and softly-spoken. Occasionally her eyes blurred with tears, but aside from grief, the emotion that overwhelms her is a quiet, simmering fury.

‘I felt it in the hospital,’ she says. ‘I can’t really remember what happened immediately after Owen died — it’s a blur — but I do remember my anger. Owen did not die from MS. He died from hospital-acquired pneumonia, and from lack of care and attention.

‘I’m still angry, and the anger gets fiercer. I think at one point I felt I’d like to burn down the hospital.

‘I know that people meet in rooms and discuss things and promise it will never happen again. But you know very well that it does. Again and again.

‘Owen was a tall man, 6ft 2in, and he died cramped and squashed against the bars of his bed like a battery hen. He had an oxygen mask that didn’t fit properly and cut into his chin. When I asked for a better fitting one, they said, “Oh, we don’t think so”.

Almost every request I made was ignored or dismissed. His lips were very dry and I couldn’t understand why nobody was moistening them. I used my own lip salve on them.

‘I saw a nurse in the corridor and asked her why my husband wasn’t in intensive care. She just said, “There are lots worse than him”, and walked on.

‘Previously, I had asked another nurse if a doctor had seen him that day, and she said: “No, but we know what to do.”

To me, that meant “We’ll do nothing”. It was almost as if someone, somewhere, had decided they weren’t going to do anything more for Owen, although he was obviously very ill.
Six weeks ago, Owen Roberts died, aged 73, of pneumonia he had contracted while at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff, pictured

Six weeks ago, Owen Roberts died, aged 73, of pneumonia he had contracted while at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff, pictured

‘He was very cold, because a patient in the next bed had a fan that was blowing cold air over him and Owen had only thin cotton blankets on his bed.

‘There was no one observing him. You ask yourself: “Where is everyone? Where are the nurses? Why is no one doing anything?”

‘You kick yourself that you didn’t stand in the corridor and scream, but when you’re an MP, you’re concerned about throwing your weight around. And you think, “I’m in a specialist hospital, with people who’ve been professionally trained” — and you assume they know what they’re doing.

‘But a basic element of good care was missing: compassion.

‘Owen lived with great dignity and fortitude, but when he died, he was treated with contempt. And I believe the fact that the nurses and doctors failed in their duty of care contributed to his death.’

Owen Roberts was an Oxford graduate, a man of dazzling intellect and gentle wit, who met Ann when they were both young broadcast journalists. He went on to become a distinguished director and producer on Welsh television.

They had no children and Ann entered politics — and became MP for her Welsh constituency in 1984. She later became Tony Blair’s special envoy on human rights in Iraq.

When Owen died in October, they had been married for 49 years.
Ann Clwyd was the UK special envoy for Human Rights in Iraq from 2003 to 2010. She is pictured during a visit to the Welsh Guards in Iraq

For 30 years he had suffered from MS, but had borne adversity with courage. Two years ago, in 2010, he fractured his leg in a fall and had a partial hip replacement, which left him confined to a wheelchair. But he lived at home in South Wales with Ann, who combined her parliamentary duties with looking after him.

He was ‘spirited, aware and intellectually curious’ and had enjoyed a visit from an old friend, an Oxford professor, just days before he collapsed on October 10 and was taken to hospital by ambulance.

At the hospital, Owen was allocated a bed in an open area of the A&E department, near the nurses’ station. Ann was told he would be kept in for observation, but she did not want to leave him until she had established that he would be sent to a ward.

She recalls: ‘Every time I tried to talk to one of the nurses, they were either on the phone or talking to one another. I know they were busy, but it did not explain how they could completely ignore a patient.

‘Whenever I asked when we’d see someone, the answer was always: “In a minute.” There was busy-ness, laughter, joking?…?but nobody addressed our concerns.

‘A doctor arrived with a tick list. He was brusque, arrogant and rude — he didn’t even introduce himself. When I asked, “What’s your name?”, he looked at me as if I’d said something impertinent. After he’d asked his questions, he just went off.

‘All this time, I hadn’t been offered a chair or a word of explanation. I’d expected at least some reassurance. But it was as if the nurses were in their little world. There was a feeling of total isolation’

Faced with this, Ann sent a text message to her PA, begging her to ask for help on her behalf.

Two-and-a-half hours later, a doctor arrived and assured her that Owen would be sent to a respiratory ward. Ann duly went home — but 24 hours later, her husband was still in A&E.

Meanwhile, Ann became ill herself, with a chest infection, and was unable to visit her husband — who’d now, finally, been transferred to a ward — for fear of infecting him and other patients.

Instead, friends and family popped in every day and she sought reports on his condition by phone. Often, she was thwarted. ‘I’d be told his nurse wasn’t there, or was on a tea break. I asked to speak to him on the phone, but they told me it was a facility they didn’t offer.’
The MP wept in the House of Commons this week when she asked the Prime Minister what he intended to do about nurses who fail to show compassion for their patients

The MP wept in the House of Commons this week when she asked the Prime Minister what he intended to do about nurses who fail to show compassion for their patients

Owen was diagnosed with sleep apnoea, a treatable disorder characterised by abnormal pauses in breathing during sleep. He was, Ann was told, to be given a mask to wear at night to help regularise his breathing. It never materialised.

However, she spoke on the phone to a staff nurse, who offered a hopeful and cheering prognosis, predicting that Owen should be able to return home the following week.

The next day, however, Ann had a call from a consultant, telling her that he was very worried. “We think he’s got pneumonia,” he said.

‘I was stunned; panicked. I rushed in with my niece, and they told me he was not responding to antibiotics.’ Owen’s condition deteriorated sharply. Ann recalls the eight hours she spent at his bedside on the day before he died, on October 23.

‘I took in a catalogue of shirts and ties that had arrived in the post because he loved colourful ties and I thought he’d find it a bit of a joke. I showed it to him and he said, in Welsh, “Tomorrow”. It was the last word he said to me.’

‘I sat by his bed and he was breathing with his oxygen mask on. One of his eyes was inflamed and watering, so I asked for a nurse to wipe it. But no one came. So I got a tissue from my bag.

‘I sat at his bedside from 2.30pm until 10.30pm and, as far as I recall, no one said anything to us. No one asked me if I wanted a cup of tea. It was as if I was invisible.

‘There was one ward round, and I stood in a corridor while they pulled the curtains around Owen’s bed. They were gone in a flash, and I’ve no idea what went on.

‘I tried to reassure him, so that he didn’t feel abandoned. He was very cold — as he had been all the time he was in hospital. I put red socks on him — he always liked red socks — and I sat and held his hand.’

When Ann returned home, she texted a friend: ‘No doctor has been since this morning. Very few nurses around either. Not very happy with the set-up.’ That night, she slept fitfully for a few hours, and was called back to the hospital at 5?am.

‘I was in a state of shock. I got dressed very quickly and put on a red coat that Owen loved.

‘My neighbour Geraldine came with me, and when we got there and found Owen’s knee squashed against the side bars of the bed. We pushed a pillow in between to make him more comfortable. His feet were sticking out of the end of the bed and he was cold. Geraldine got a towel and put it over his feet.

‘I’d once got a bill through parliament to improve the welfare of battery hens, and I remember thinking he looked so cramped and squashed he was just like one.

‘I just sat there and stroked his arm. I was afraid to do anything — but I was in a university teaching hospital and I thought they must know what they were doing.

‘It was all a bit of a haze, but I remember thinking: “Why aren’t they doing anything?” I tried to say encouraging words. I wanted to reassure him, to let him know that I was there.

‘I’d never seen anyone die before, but when I saw the blood draining from Owen’s face, I just knew that he was dead.
As Ann’s husband died, there was a sudden flurry of activity. ‘People rushed in, tore his mask off – but it was too little too late. And I suspect it had been for some time’

As Ann’s husband died, there was a sudden flurry of activity. ‘People rushed in, tore his mask off – but it was too little too late. And I suspect it had been for some time’

‘Just at that moment, a nurse came in with a trolley crying out: “Anyone for breakfast?” It was only a four-bed ward, and she showed indifference bordering on callousness. It was, for me, a very emotionally draining time — and I believe care and dignity were not there. Owen was treated with contempt.’

As Ann’s husband died, there was a sudden flurry of activity. ‘People rushed in, tore his mask off — but it was too little too late. And I suspect it had been for some time.’

A few days after her husband’s funeral, Ann returned to work. Friends had told her that work was the best therapy — but six weeks on, sleep eludes her.

For her, solace comes in the form of campaigning so that others do not suffer as her husband did. ‘This is why I’ve forced myself to speak out. I’ve had hundreds of supportive emails, and one retired GP wrote: “I felt ashamed of my profession and I cried at your distress.”

‘I don’t want any redress for myself, but I want to start a campaign. I just want to flag up the lack of compassion.

‘We all know nurses work under huge pressure, but so many now have degrees, and it seems to me there is more interest in their qualifications than in the qualities they should show to their patients.

‘Care, compassion, concern: this is what is needed. This is the message I want to get across.’

Mr Adam Cairns, Cardiff and Vale University Health Board Chief Executive, said he was keen to meet with Ms Clwyd.

‘I would, of course, like to offer my sincere condolences to Ms Clwyd on the loss of her husband. I have been very concerned to learn of her experiences but, unfortunately, to date, and despite repeated efforts, Ms Clwyd has not responded to our offers to meet with her.

‘As a health board, we always accept responsibility when things don’t go well, which is why we really need Ms Clwyd to help us get to the bottom of what happened in the case of her late husband and to allow us to investigate fully the very serious concerns she has raised.

‘I’ve asked for a review of the case to be undertaken, a process which would be much improved by having information first-hand of the circumstances surrounding this case.’

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Any person can be a nurse without the degree after an informal internship. Somehow, working so hard and saving so much for a degree sucks the very compassion and humanity necessary to be a good nurse and a good citizen. Modern education is EVIL but in a very subtle way. Thats another reason to avoid those who swear by education, especially HIGHER EDUCATION. I had a dozen or so friends that ‘died’ (dehumanized to point of non-viability as friends) after getting educations.

They never seemed the same. As for hospitals, I’d say that my parents who had some reason to be interred, ALSO ‘died’ and became ‘different’ after their stays. Education and healthcare, even working on a salary in general somehow fracture the souls of those they come into contact with or those working at such places. Try talking to people with less education and compare, while the conversations are mostly less interesting or more limited, the sense of humanity is more intact. There might be some sort of ‘contract’ that the spirit seems to be affected by when using such institutions, not easy to place this occult sort of thing, but most of society excepting the people denouncing or untouched by the overall system make for a very difficult case to put forth, yet we still try and the closing thing to a key I’d say is to study Socialism and Marxism FIRST before getting into the Capitalist and Consumerist world. That is all I can offer to those who are afflicted with what I just described. Modern society is a spiritual sickness of sorts. That and high density living which fosters hive minds ad mob mindedness . . . the other thing that changes a person’s objectivity and ‘true self’, is marriage and family, but that will be for another response . . .

“Jurong Rock Cavern, South-east Asia’s first underground rock cavern for oil storage, with its two access shafts almost completed, will begin its first phase of proper construction at year end, with the first two caverns providing 480,000 cu meters of storage. JRC is located more than 100 meters below Jurong Island’s Banyan Basin and it will provide safe and secure storage for liquid hydrocarbons such as crude oil, condensate, naphtha and gasoil. Locating the JRC just beneath Jurong Island will add more infrastructural support to the major chemical companies operating there such as Chevron Philips, ExxonMobil and Shell. Phase 1 of the project will free up about 60ha of usable land above ground and it will create 1.47 million cu metres of storage space, equivalent to 580 Olympic-sized pools, when completed by 2014. The cavern itself will be up to 27 m high – equivalent to a nine-storey building. This first phase will consist of 8km of tunnels and five caverns housing a total of nine storage galleries. The caverns will be built using a technique that drills and blasts sedimentary rock and for greater stability, the inner wall will be lined with rock bolts. A planned phase 2 of the project will double JRC’s storage capacity. GK-JCPL Consortium, a Jurong International partnership with French engineering firm Geostock, has previously been awarded the contract to in providing basic engineering design and construction management services for the caverns and associated facilities. Jurong International is also previously responsible for many of the heavy infrastructure and engineering projects associated with Jurong Island including its initial formation via reclamation and amalgamation of seven islands.”

Why we need such a deep storage in granite…300 feet below the surface? Just hoping its not for nuclear plant or weapons storage.

Hyundai clinches $890m Jurong Rock Cavern contract – by RONNIE LIM

CONSTRUCTION proper of Singapore’s underground oil storage project is finally set to start with South Korea’s Hyundai Engineering & Construction clinching the main $890 million ‘design and build’ contract this week from JTC Corporation.

Actual building under this contract, for the first phase of Jurong Rock Cavern (JRC), begins at year- end, with the first two caverns providing 480,000 cubic metres of oil storage when ready in the first half of 2013.

The entire phase one, comprising five caverns, will offer a total of 1.47 million cu m when completed by 2014.

This will make the JRC slightly larger than the $470 million, 1.24 million cu m tankfarm of Horizon Terminals, but about two- thirds that of Hin Leong Trading’s $750 million, 2.3 million cu m Universal Terminal – Asia’s largest commercial storage.

The project had earlier run into some delays, although Senior Minister of State for Trade & Industry S Iswaran last month gave the assurance that Singapore was committed to the JRC which would help alleviate the land shortage on Jurong Island.

Investors have not been able to get land there to build more above-ground oil terminals needed by oil refiners and traders to store their oil and petrochemical products.

So despite being behind schedule and slightly above cost, the JRC will provide necessary infrastructure for Singapore’s oil hub, especially once the rebound comes.

The cost for phase one of JRC – being built under Banyan Basin – has run up by about one-third to $940 million from an earlier estimate of $700 million.

This includes the $50 million for two access shafts and start-up galleries – which are almost completed – to facilitate construction.

The chosen operator of the JRC – earlier expected to be announced at the same time as the main construction award – will, however, only be made known by mid-year, JTC officials indicated yesterday.

Existing terminal operators here such as Royal Vopak of Holland and Emirates National Oil Company are known to be vying for this.

The main construction award came 11/2 years after the tender was first called by JTC in late-2007.

Asked why it took that long, given that there were only two bidders (the other being South Korea’s SK Engineering), the spokesman explained that ‘it’s a huge tender which involved a lot of detailed work and is very complex’.

The work is being done 130m below the seabed, and Hyundai – which has experience with such projects in Taiwan and Korea – has to carry out ‘drill and blast’ excavation using explosives, he added.

The entire phase one will involve eight kilometres of tunnels, with five caverns made up of two storage galleries, with each gallery being 340m long, 20m wide and 27m high. (About nine-storeys high, each gallery is large enough to contain water from over 64 Olympic-sized pools).

‘The water pressure will keep the oil contained within the generally unlined rock caves,’ the spokesman said.

The higher project cost arose due to improvements made to the cavern designs to enhance operational flexibility, he explained.

A planned phase two of the JRC could add a further 1.3 million cu m of storage, doubling its capacity.

Asked if this could cost more than phase one, the spokesman said that ‘the complexity is similar, so it depends on the timing (of when the project is done)’.

I have a sneaky feeling its for something nuclear. It was mentioned before by our MIWs that Singapore may go nuclear in the future. Since when they tell u the truth about anything until TOO LATE or that we manage to ‘DIG’ things up trawling the internet. I have a real sneaky feeling about this ‘cavern’. Anyone have a map where this 8km cavern is located precisely? Dont want to live above it just in case. It’s in Jurong but where EXACTLY? “You can fool some of the people some of the time….BUT, you cannot fool ALL the people ALL of the time…

WHICH PARTY’S SLOGAN IS……We Aim To Fool The Majority All The Time?”

Re: Jurong Rock Cavern To Store What? Scary Thought…Nuclear Plant?

Quote Originally Posted by red amoeba View Post

the location for sure will be top secret. No lah, the big lobang is for oil. For weapons or ammo, it would be somewhere else. Instead of hving thse giantic tanks like big targets for terrorist, safer to store them underground. The MIWs have been telling too many lies that its hard to believe them anymore. Even if for oil, there must be air-vents to the surface. i like to know where these air vents are so as not to visit the area too frequently. These air vents should be spewing out invisible chemicals “You can fool some of the people some of the time….BUT, you cannot fool ALL the people ALL of the time…

WHICH PARTY’S SLOGAN IS……We Aim To Fool The Majority All The Time?”

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Kiasu at the taxpayer’s expense? MM 4 million+ yearly, SM 4 million+ yearly, ON TOP of the President and Prime Minister’s posts . . . which 99% of Singaporeans said those salaries were legal? Obama earns 400K a year and USA is 1000s of times more than Singapore? Meritocracy or Institutionalized/Legalized Corruption?

ARTICLE 14

China to flatten 700 mountains for new metropolis in the desert – Lanzhou new area plan to begin with ‘mountain-moving project’, but financial and environmental wisdom of project questioned – Jonathan Kaiman in Beijing – guardian.co.uk, Thursday 6 December 2012 17.48 GMT

A long, long time ago, an old Chinese peasant named Yu Gong decided to move two inconveniently located mountains away from blocking the entrance to his home. Legend has it he struggled terribly, but ultimately succeeded. Hence the Chinese idiom “Yu Gong moves the mountains.” Where there’s a will, there’s a way. Now Chinese developers are putting old Yu to shame.

In what is being billed as the largest “mountain-moving project” in Chinese history, oneof China’s biggest construction firms will spend £2.2bn to flatten 700 mountains levelling the area Lanzhou, allowing developers to build a new metropolis on the outskirts of the north-western city.

The Lanzhou New Area, 500 square miles (130,000 hectares) of land 50 miles from the city, which is the provincial capital of arid Gansu province, could increase the region’s gross domestic product to £27bn by 2030, according to the state-run China Daily. It has already attracted almost £7bn of corporate investment.

The project will be China’s fifth “state-level development zone” and the first in the country’s rapidly developing interior, according to state media reports. Others include Shanghai’s Pudong and Tianjin’s Binhai, home to a half-built, 120-building replica of Manhattan. China’s state council, its highest administrative authority, approved the Lanzhou project in August.

The first stage of the mountain-flattening initiative, which was reported on Tuesday by the China Economic Weekly magazine, began in late October and will eventually enable a new urban district almost 10 square miles in size northeast of downtown Lanzhou – a small, but important part of the Lanzhou Nnew area project to be built.

One of the country’s largest private companies: the Nanjing-based China Pacific Construction Group, headed by Yan Jiehe, is behind the initiative. The 52-year-old former teacher is portrayed in China as a sort of home-grown Donald Trump – ultra-ambitious and preternaturally gifted at navigating the country’s vast network of “guanxi”, or personal connections.

Yan was born in the 1960s as the youngest of nine children. After a decade of working as a high-school teacher and cement plant employee, he founded his construction firm in 1995 and amassed a fortune by buying and revamping struggling state-owned enterprises. In 2006 the respected Hu Run report named Yan – then worth about £775m – as China’s second-richest man.

His latest plan has evoked a healthy dose of scepticism. Lanzhou, home to 3.6 million people alongside the silty Yellow River, already has major environmental concerns. Last year the World Health Organisation named it the city with the worst air pollution in China. The city’s main industries include textiles, fertiliser production and metallurgy.

Liu Fuyuan, a former high-level official at the country’s National Development and Reform Commission, told China Economic Weekly that the project was unsuitable because Lanzhou is frequently listed as among China’s most chronically water-scarce municipalities. “The most important thing is to gather people in places where there is water,” he said.

Others also pointed to the financial risk of building a new city in the middle of the desert. “All this investment needs to be paid back with residential land revenue, and I don’t see much on returns in these kinds of cities,” said Tao Ran, an economics professor at Renmin University in Beijing. “If you have a booming real estate market it might work, but it seems to me that real estate in China is very, very risky.”

In an email interview, a China Pacific Construction Group spokeswoman dismissed criticisms of the project as unjustified. “Lanzhou’s environment is already really poor, it’s all desolate mountains which are extremely short of water,” said Angie Wong. “Our protective style of development will divert water to the area, achieve reforestation and make things better than before.”

Yan’s plans could be considered “a protective style of development, and a developmental style of protection”, she said, adding: “I think whether it’s England or America, or any other country, no one will cease development because of resource scarcity caused by geography.”

A promotional video posted on the Lanzhou new area website shows a digitally-rendered cityscape of gleaming skyscrapers and leafy parks. Against a driving operatic score, the camera zooms out from a large government building to reveal features of the area’s imagined urban topography: a clock tower, a new airport, an oil refinery, a light-rail system, and a stadium packed with cheering fans.

The new area “will lead to an environmentally sustainable economy based on energy-saving industries” including advanced equipment manufacturing, petrochemical industries and modern agriculture, wrote Chinese Central Television on its website.

The Lanzhou city government could not be reached for comment.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

There is no such thing as ‘real estate’, this has tremendous occult significance instead. Note the location and surrounding quake zones. This is a fengshui confluence city that looks set to be filled with life energy if not mistaken or even able to somehow harness the energy at the safe point. Concept of money and real estate is a farce btw. Save for allodial titles backed by force of arms, real goods and real labour/services, or the whimsical entertainments of the RLD, OPZ or Casino city, there is nothing on this planet but evil politicians term limitless and nepotistic, along with plutocrats (those who are BOTH politician and plutocrat are the worst) that sequester wealth and pollute the environment.

European Commission letter to House of Lords says Scotland’s membership will ‘cease to apply’ if it breaks away from the UK / Spanish government would block entry, fearing it would embolden Catalonian separatists

Brussels will refuse to let Scotland automatically join the European Union if voters back Alex Salmond’s plans for independence, it emerged today.

Officials at the European Commission have revealed Scotland’s EU membership will ‘cease to apply’ if it is no longer part of the UK.

The Spanish government has made clear it would ‘veto’ any attempt by Scotland to join.

It is a major blow to claims made by Mr Salmond, Scotland’s First Minister, that Scotland would automatically continue to be in the Euro bloc.

He was ridiculed after claiming in a TV interview that he had obtained legal advice on EU membership but it had to remain secret. He later admitted no advice had been sought.

Now it has emerged that a letter sent to a House of Lords committee warns that that independence ‘would not have a neutral impact’.

Scotland would become a ‘third country’ – outside the EU and have to apply to join the 27-member union, the European Commission told the Lords economic affairs committee.

‘If a territory of a member state ceases to be part of that member state because it has become an independent state then the treaties would cease to apply to that territory,’ according to the letter reported by The Scotsman.

If Scotland did lodge an application it would need to ‘fulfil the usual obligations’ and be ‘accepted unanimously by the members of the council [member states]’.

In a recent debate, Lib Dem Lord Wallace revealed the UK government was clear that any attempt for Scotland to join the EU would meet with difficulties.

‘On the question of Catalonia and Spain, it is entirely clear that the Spanish Government are opposed to any idea of secession and would be likely to veto a Scottish application to join the European Union under current circumstances.

There have been exchanges between the Spanish Government and the European Commission on this exact issue.’

The Spanish government fears that if an independent Scotland gained membership it would bolster calls for Catalonian independence.

It directly contradicts claims made by Mr Salmond’s SNP, who have repeatedly suggested Scotland would automatically join the EU as a new state.
The Scottish independence referendum is being held in autumn 2014, when Mr Salmond hopes to capitalise on a patriotic mood marking 700th anniversary of the Battle of Bannockburn

The Scottish independence referendum is being held in autumn 2014, when Mr Salmond hopes to capitalise on a patriotic mood marking 700th anniversary of the Battle of Bannockburn

SNP MP Pete Wishart told the Commons last month: ‘Scotland is a constituent part of the United Kingdom. We are currently a member of the European Union. After independence, we will continue to be a member of the European Union.’

But Foreign Office minister Hugo Swire told the same debate that ‘everything would change’ if Scots vote to go it alone in the referendum due in autumn 2014.

An independent Scotland would not automatically be a member of the EU and would have to ‘start afresh’, he added.

A spokesman for the Scottish Government said: ‘Immediately following a Yes vote in Autumn 2014, Scotland will still be part of the UK. Negotiations will then take place on the transfer of powers from Westminster to the Scottish Parliament along with negotiations on the specific terms of an independent Scotland’s continued membership of the European Union.

‘Ministers have always been clear that these negotiations will be needed – but the crucial point is that they will take place from within the EU.

‘Scotland has been an integral part of the European Union for almost four decades and an independent Scotland will continue in EU membership. As legal, constitutional and European experts have confirmed, Scotland is part of the territory of the European Union and the people of Scotland are citizens of the EU, and there is no provision for those circumstances to change upon independence.’

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

I wouldn’t worry if I were Salmond or Scotland. When Scotland becomes a sovereign state and possibly banking or hub for BRICS, Brussels will change their tone to the effect that automatic joining will be forestalled by going through the motions of ‘starting afresh’. This is terribly manipulative but a face saving necessity.

Scotland presents a great opportunity for BRICS by being sidelined in this manner by EU. BRICS well needs a friendly point to the EU by and if the EU has decided to distance from Scotland then BRICS would certainly find Scotland that much more attractive, not that EU and BRICS are in any spat that Scotland is already not aware of. UN can even drop Scotland, but so long as BRICS is around the multipolar world will balance things out.

An independent Scotland would not automatically be a member of the EU and would have to ‘start afresh’, he added. Well thats just pretentious. And if by some impossibility that Scotland fails to join EU, the BRICS will be very happy to have a new member EVEN IF Scotland becomes the North Korea of the EU. Like a trust fund under guardianship and insulting as hell to Scotland to the tune of a deflated bagpipe gasping a sour note of contrived control. I’m not Scottish but already feel offended on the Scots’ behalf. Incidentally, try the CGI “Brave”, the settings make the Scots into a circus, main characters are ‘fractured’ as hell and an unhealthy role model . . .

Sometimes a highly individualistic name for a baby is not good news for a kid, says Dean Obeidallah

Editor’s note: Dean Obeidallah, a former attorney, is a political comedian and frequent commentator on various TV networks including CNN. He is the editor of the politics blog “The Dean’s Report” and co-director of the upcoming documentary “The Muslims Are Coming!” Follow him on Twitter: @deanofcomedy

(CNN) — Siri, Mars, Mac and Luna. I’m not talking Apple products or planetary terms. These are baby names. And not just any baby names but ones that have jumped in popularity in 2012, according to Baby Center.com’s just released list.

Baby Siri? Seriously, who would name their bundle of joy after a frustrating Apple product that hardly ever works? And speaking of Apple (see daughter of Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin,) that name moved up a whopping 585 places on the list of names for girls born in 2012. So there could conceivably be a family out there with a daughter named Apple and a son named Siri. (Hope that entitles the family to a discount on an iMac.)

There was a time when bizarre baby naming was something only celebrities did to their kids (as if being the child of a celebrity wasn’t challenging enough). There’s Beyonce and Jay Z’s Blue Ivy, Penn Jillette’s son, Moxie Crimefighter, Bono’s daughter Memphis Eve, actor Jason Lee’s son Pilot Inspektor, and the list goes on and on.
Dean Obeidallah

But now this “condition” is apparently spreading to the rest of us. In addition to the offbeat names above, 2011 saw babies sporting such names as: Moo, Draper, Graceland and Tequila.

There are even media reports that this past weekend some parents allegedly named their newborn daughter, Hashtag. That one may turn out to be an Internet hoax, but after last year’s story of a child in Egypt being named Facebook (in praise of the role Facebook played in the Egyptian revolution), we can’t be too far from babies named Retweet and Spam Blocker anyway. It truly is only a matter of time until you meet a kid named DVR or Playstation 3.
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Apparently some parents believe that giving their child a jaw-dropping name will make him or her more distinctive. News flash: it’s not the name that makes your child stand out, it’s his or her achievements.

While I don’t want to rain on creativity, let’s be honest — these weird names are more about parents showing off their “cleverness” than about finding a name that fits the child. It’s not like the parents got to know the child first for a few months and then said, “You know this baby really is a little Siri.”
Beyonce, Jay-Z welcome baby Blue Ivy
Jolie: We are all Malala

And do these parents even consider that a baby’s name can cause consequences for the child that the parents never imagined, and in many areas of the child’s life? When I reflect upon my own name, I realize that my life could have been far different if my parents had followed their initial instincts when naming me.

My Palestinian father wanted to name me Saladin after the famous Muslim leader, while my Sicilian mother wanted to name me Dino. Instead they compromised on Dean.

Growing up in North Jersey, Dean was not a common name. But it actually made me feel different in a good way being the only Dean in my class. And even today in looking at the list of baby names for 2012, I was actually happy that Dean was not in the top 100.

Still, the truth is, if I’d been named Dino, I would have certainly been viewed as more ethnic by teachers, potential employers and co-workers. I would have been required to continually overcome cultural stereotypes.

And if I’d been named the very Arabic Saladin Obeidallah, you could just imagine all the “fun” I would have had in post-9/11 America. I would have likely volunteered for “random” security checks at the airport to make it easier for all involved or simply got used to taking the bus cross country.

But there’s a difference between a name that isn’t overly common and naming your child after your favorite appliance. A name is a big part of a kid’s identity. It can trigger impressions about a child even before we meet him or her — a particular problem among the closed-minded of the world, but this is the world your child will have to navigate.

For example, studies have found that children with names that linguistically sound like they come from a lower socioeconomic status are less likely to be recommended by school officials for gifted classes and actually more likely to be labeled as learning disabled.

Other research has revealed that boys with feminine sounding names — such as Shannon or Ashley — have had more disciplinary problems in school because of their response to teasing. Still other studies have found a link between how much people like their own names and their level of self-esteem.

So, parents, keep in mind that your choice of name will have a lasting impact on your child — both for good and bad. And if you insist on picking a bizarre name for the baby, then I propose that your child be empowered to rename you with any name he or she chooses. At least then it’s fair that a child named Hashtag has parents named Angry Birds and YouTube.

Follow us on Twitter @CNNOpinion.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

In the past there were in some cultures NAMING CEREMONIES AT ADULTHOOD. The child would choose a name LATER, and all children knew their names when young were TEMPORARY and that parents chose those names. Sometimes what the child did that was most unique would also decide what that child was RENAMED at adulthood. So ‘Hashtag’ away and legalise/normalise name changing at the age of 21. Knowing that names are temporary and chosen by parents, kids would not be affected by teasing because they knew they were going to change that name, or the teasers would not bother to tease knowing the name would also change by then.

An anti right-to-work protester is seen outside of Michigan’s state capitol building in Lansing December 11, 2012. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook

(Reuters) – Michigan enacted a ban on mandatory union membership on Tuesday, dealing a stunning blow to organized labor in the state that is home to U.S. automakers and the symbol of industrial labor in the United States.

As more than 12,000 unionized workers and supporters protested at the Capitol in Lansing, the Republican-led state House of Representatives gave final approval to a pair of “right-to-work” bills covering public- and private-sector unions.

Republican Governor Rick Snyder signed the bills into law as soon as they reached his desk, completing in a few days a campaign to make Michigan the 24th U.S. state to prohibit unions from requiring employees to join and contribute dues.

“I view this as an opportunity to stand up for Michigan’s workers, to be pro-worker,” Snyder told a news conference after he signed the bills.

The laws will take effect 90 days after the end of the legislative session, which means they will probably come into force sometime in April. Existing union contracts will not be changed until they expire, according to a provision of the laws.

In a rapid turn of events, Michigan moved from being a bastion of union influence to joining states, mostly in the South, that have weakened local protections for unions.

The Teamsters union national president, James Hoffa, whose father, Jimmy Hoffa, was one of the nation’s most famous labor leaders until he disappeared in 1975 in Michigan, denounced Republican leaders in a speech to the protesters.

“Let me tell the governor and all those elected officials who vote for this shameful, divisive bill – there will be repercussions,” Hoffa said, adding the Republicans could be defeated in the next election.

Unions have accused Snyder of caving in to wealthy Republican business owners and political donors such as the Koch brothers, owners of an energy and trading conglomerate, and Richard DeVos, the co-founder of Michigan-based Amway.

Snyder, a former computer company executive who had said “right-to-work” legislation was too divisive for Michigan, changed course last week and announced his support for it.

While labor leaders decried the legislation, Republican Representative Lisa Lyons said during the debate in the House that such laws were not an attack on unions.

“This is the day Michigan freed its workers,” she said.

Opponents argue that the measures undermine a basic union tenet of bargaining collectively with employers for better wages, benefits and working conditions. They also allow workers to opt out of a union, potentially reducing membership.

By weakening unions, Republicans also could hurt the Democratic Party, which traditionally receives a significant portion of its funding and grass-roots support from unions.

Supporters of right-to-work measures say some unions have become too rigid and workers should be given a choice of whether to join. They also say a more flexible labor market encourages business investment, citing “right-to-work” states where some foreign automakers have put plants rather than in Michigan.

CRIES OF ‘SHAME’

The measures were approved to cries of “shame” from protesters inside the Capitol building, which was closed to visitors when it reached capacity of 2,200, Michigan State Police Inspector Gene Adamczyk said.

An estimated 10,000 more people demonstrated outside in cold and snowy conditions, including members of the United Auto Workers union, and teachers, who shut down several schools in the state to attend the rally.

A few protesters were ejected from the Capitol after they chanted slogans from the gallery during the debate. Protesters tore down two tents set up for supporters of “right-to-work” on the grounds of the Capitol. Adamczyk said six people were arrested after scuffling with officers.

A mixture of pepper spray and tear gas was used on one person, Adamczyk said, although Reuters journalists also saw protesters sprayed with a substance at a government building near the Capitol.

The protests recalled big rallies in Wisconsin nearly two years ago when Republicans voted to curb public-sector unions. Wisconsin never tried to pass “right-to-work” bills.

But Indiana earlier this year became the first state in the industrial Midwest to approve “right-to-work” legislation and several other states are watching the Michigan action closely.

LEGAL CHALLENGES LOOM

Republicans in Michigan were also emboldened by the defeat in the November election of a ballot initiative backed by unions that would have enshrined the right to collective bargaining in the state constitution.

Michigan is home of the heavily unionized U.S. auto industry, with some 700 manufacturing plants in the state. The state has the fifth highest percentage of workers who are union members, at 17.5 percent

The Detroit area is headquarters for General Motors Co, Ford Motor Co and Chrysler, which is majority-owned by Fiat SpA.

The UAW was founded in Michigan after a 1932 protest at a Ford plant in Dearborn left five people dead, increasing public sympathy for industrial workers during the Great Depression and leading to national legislation protecting unions.

Major automakers, which secured concessions from the UAW after nearly going bankrupt during the recession of 2008-09, were careful not to take sides publicly in the fight.

All of the so-called Big Three domestic automakers said they were “neutral” on “right-to-work,” even though the Michigan Chamber of Commerce strongly supports it.

“At Ford, we are focused on working with all our partners, including the UAW,” the company said in a statement on Tuesday.

Democrats and unions have vowed to challenge the new laws in the courts, to try to overturn them in a ballot initiative and possibly oust through recall elections some Republicans who voted for the measures.

Democratic Representative Douglas Geiss said “right-to-work” laws would lead to a resumption of the battles surrounding the creation of unions decades ago.

“There will be fights on the shop floor if many workers announce they will not pay union dues,” Geiss said.

(Additional reporting by Robert Carr, David Bailey and Deepa Seetharaman; Editing by Greg McCune and Peter Cooney)

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Reuters?!? A ban on mandatory union membership *IS NOT*, dealing a stunning blow to organized labor in the state that is home to U.S. automakers and the symbol of industrial labor in the United States. This protects the workers from mob mindedness or being forced into what become SECRET SOCIETIES that also collect yearly dues or other fees that mosy workers who need a union cannot and would rather not pay! Work unions are powerful and goodly when CONSENSUAL, but when EEVERY WORKER IS FORCED TO JOIN, we end up with ‘Satrapies’ run by tyrants, especially if term limits in the COMMITTEE are not a fact or part of the constitution of the Union in question. This law protects the individual worker by giving OPTIONS. How could Reuters write such news?!?

‘Supporters of right-to-work measures say some unions have become too rigid and workers should be given a choice of whether to join. They also say a more flexible labor market encourages business investment, citing “right-to-work” states where some foreign automakers have put plants rather than in Michigan.’ This says everything.

“There will be fights on the shop floor if many workers announce they will not pay union dues,” Geiss said.

Oh yea? So what if they don;t join or don’t pay. If they don’t want to pay the union mafia, thats their choice. Why should there be any fights at all. Are these unions thugs?

i fuckin hate this religion ,i grew up in muslim majority country and i can say muslims are full of shitt even though i don’t hate muslims i hate islam “To Muslims it is always a just war if the end goal is to spread Islam. If the war is waged by non Muslims to stop Muslims from marching in to spread Islam inside their land, it is an unjust war…Many Muslims call for da’wa in the West, which technically means “an invitation to Islam.” They present it as a “peaceful” invitation, but they do not tell the West that this is the first step before outright war if their da’wa is rejected. So when Muslims say da’wa, the West should be warned, because they do not want you to know that da’wa is merely the “make nice” first step before preceding outright jihad.” 7:56 PM

Blogger Gabe Del said…

I’m a witness to the ignorance that is Muslim . I’m a US Marine forward deployed on my 5th combat deployment. Four in Iraq and now one in afghanastan . These guys are illiterate and simple minded. The ten percent that can read will twist young Muslims minds to make them believe what ever they want them to believe in their Gods name. Kill, kill, kill is what they teach them against anyone not Muslim. There Koran teaches peace and good will, but I agree, history tells the truth of what kind of people they really are. No need to swear or lower yourself to their level. Muslims are the infection this world so desperately needs a cure for. 10:19 AM

Dead Ted said…

So your saying that the sneak attack on our towers, the pentagon, and the White House is a way to protect their land and people? Good plan worked wonders…some of the dumbest shit I’ve ever read 2:38 PM

Blogger Red_Rooster said…

Their minds are f***ed, memorizing the fucking Koran. Their ‘thinking’ part of the brain has gone redundant. They hate the Jews but do everything the Jews do; do not eat pork, cut their dicks, bleed a poor animal to death and call it ‘Hallal’ instead of ‘Kosher’, write backwards and wash their dicks before they start praying. In fact, the dumb muslims, follow the Jewish calender! The first day for the muslims is ‘Yom al Ahed’, meaning the first day. It is the Sunday; the first Jewish day after the Sabath. Yom al Itneen, Yom al thalata, Robo, Khamis and Juma, stand for the second, third, fouth, fifth and sixth day. The muslims 7th. day, is ‘Yom al Septh’; literally meaning, the seventh day. In fact, the Sabath; the day the Jews were told to rest. The muslims only differ from the Jews, is in their day of rest. They rest a day before the Jews. In prayer, physically they are the same, except the Jews literally tell you they are fucking somebody, while the muslims tell you, “Fuck Me!”

samy said…

to Jihan

I know what is written in Quraan , i was forced to read and even memorize it at school when I was living in my mother country before migrate to canada ( thank God), the true islam relegion is violence .. force other people to convert otherwise they will be islam enemy and should be killed .. this is what written in Quraan and you knw it and can not deny it… even in here in canada they are trying to force the stubid islamic belives on other people and their ultimate goal is to take over north america and europ .. I hope that our government to wake up and realise what is going on … WAKE UUUPPPP.., islam is evil , muslims are twisted minded and hate everyone simply because he or she is not muslim !!!! they will be in everlasting HELL.. this is the simple plan truth, so what ever you or any muslim try to say otherwise .. it is a BIGGGGG LIE.!! 10:45 AM

Event_Horizon said…

They are so backward in all aspects of life including commerce, infrastructure or technology. They are a brainwashed nation thirsty for the blood of other successful nations. And the worst part is their fucked up religion acts as a catalyst. It inspires them to wage was over the world. For how long will the world continue to tolerate these freaks of religion? The muslims sole mission in life is to create terror in the world. That is what they live for, that’s what their religion teaches them. They are jealous of the developed countries . . . P.S. Muslims smell bad…..True Story! 12:38 PM

Blogger Pris said…

I love all other religions except islam. Muslims are truly f***** up, but don’t know any better because they are brainwashed and left with no brains. Watch all the muslim countries in the world, none of their economies are doing well. The ones that have oil may have money, but they have no infrastructure, no scientific manpower etc. These assholes come to the west for a better life and then try to force their evil religion, customs, traditions and damn sharia law on the free citizens of the world. If left to thrive these guys will make our western nations deteriorate to the abysmal level of the muslim countries they came from. Their goal is to dominate the world and so they multiply like rats to increase their numbers. Before they become a sizable population in the west we should send these guys, including the ones that were born or converted in the west, to muslim countries and contain them there. Let them over populate muslim countries . . . are contaminating the west and so should be stopped before it is too late. To start off, we need to prohibit building of mosques and islamic schools, and publishing of the unholy koran. We need to unite and end this evil.

Blogger TheDeathBird said…

I know a family who left Lebanon to flee Muslim persecution. One of their grandsons returned to visit. On this trip there was a man yelling on the TV set in his hotel room. The man was protesting being fined a cow for shooting his wife for being outside the house. She had crossed a field and a man on a horse said something to her, since he didn’t get a clear shot at the man. Since he could not prove the man was really talking to his wife they fined him a cow. This is Muslim law this is what the Koran teaches. Also, in the Koran a woman told her husband to stop following Mohamid or she would leave She believed Mo was a bad evil monster. Her husband begged her to not talk bad about Mo but since She wouldn’t stop talking bad about Mohamid and She was Pregnant he cut his unborn child out of her belly. He went to Mo and told him and Mohamid said ” I can find no fault with this man” OK people this Story is in the Koran! can you imagine any other spiritual leader like Jesus or Krishna saying something like that! Only the spawn of hell the son of Satan the true Anti Christ would say such a thing Muslims worship the devil their God lives in hell and eats the faithful Muslims for dinner. While pretending to be God. Let any Muslim tell us that story isn’t in the Koran I read it! they follow this monster Mohamido the vile and say he is good. Anyone who reads the Koran who has any love inside them or spirtuality will be sad such a vile work of hate can be considered a work inspired by God. 7:48 PM

sexyharry said…

these guys(muslims) when small in numbers behave as if they are good (we respect other religions,and our god is tolerant etc.) but reality is there quran teaches to hate,kill people who doesn’t believe in islam, some of muslims are good as they doesn’t follow islam properly…….as muslims number increases they will be no more friend of urs ,they will take the side their muslim brothers and try to implement the shariah law’s,blasts,killing who leaves islam……so,i am a guy from sanathan dharam,in our religion we respect every other religion and our religion doesn’t believe in conversion bcoz god resides in us not by simple conversion…..so,i love all religions except islam ………4:02 AM

Blogger vsindia said…

Thes muslims are really lowly creatures. all the terrorists in this world are muslims. how can screw muslims ?

– stop giving them jobs
– shun them publicly
– make separate , stricter laws for muslims
– lets convert all their kids after killing the men
– lets creat gas chambers once again – only for muslims/

I hate them so much that my fist clench and jaws go tight when i think of these bastards. They have forcibly thrown out hindus out of kashmir and christians out of bosnia.

4:42 AM

mark said…

not all muslims are bad but I am sick of them. I am sick of them coming to the west and demanding that shariah law be implemented in western nations. if muzzies think shariah law is so great then they should piss off and go live in a muslim nation.

sick of their fantical hate and terrorism.
sick of their demands and sick of their backward ways.
muslims should go and live in muslim nations and keep their shit ways in muslim nations.

10:08 PM

Blogger marine corps captain said…

JIHAN,

I have taken significant time to read your Koran. And I would rather wipe my ass with a dirty, dime store novel than waste another minute reading, or listening, to that complete pile of pig cum.
Thank GOD I had the opportunity to kill 19 of your brethren while in Iraq. 19 less jihadists on the move.
It’s not ignorance my camel fucking friend…I completely understand your beliefs, motives and wants for this world. And if given the chance I would end your life as well. And your family’s and friend’s lives if possible.
And please refrain from the old tag line of “That’s not true Islam.” Any individual with a 3rd grade education has the ability to understand your religion of hate, murder, suppresion and penchant for death. Watch your back, Muhhamed…you won’t have a second chance with me. 8:23 AM

Fighting to live said…

Hi guys . I am married to a moslem but I am Greek Orthodox. This is a quite funny mix. Our kids are Christian I made sure . But the Moslems all jokes aside have made and continue to make efforts to convert me. That is quite frightening. My husband offered to convert. So I decided to make him sell everything in Pakistan and the next step is to convert him. Wait and see. Keep up the great work

8:50 PM

Blogger Uncle_Sam said…

this maessage is for the fucking muslims

Long gone are the days when you used to blow yourselves up in the middle of the streets in the countries that you infest with your presence.You forget that we are the ones who created and adopted this so-called human rights but we can also break em! you call yourselves warriors ? Com on up and fight you stinckin’ cowards! we’ll show you what a war means…We’ll show you what everyone felt 65 years ago!We’ll show the Nazi style bitches…we will behead all of your stinckin’ children and your masked-shit-pushed-in wifes… Can u all spell together HOLOCAUST? 3:10 PM

Blogger Red_Rooster said…

sdlfihsdiulkgh54;kuy5b4jgrehthredyth said… This man talks of porn … Tell him to go to Yemen. He can fuck 12 yr. old girls there for free! Three times a day! Free!

I lived in Yemen and I know. All the women go out around noon to eat Kat at their friends’. You just pick these Burka clad women and boy, when they enter your home, the Burka is off in a jiffy! Just like that! Pot luck but fucking lucky evertime I had. I must have fucked over 300 muslim cunts in my 5-year stay there. No worry of husbands. They are all in working in Saudi Arabia; coolies there and their 12 year old brides are getting fucked back home. By the way … all their women have inserted in them, the ‘Copper T’. A muslim Female gynacologist I knew, made a roaring business from inserting these things.

The ruder parts of the above have been edited out. The acts of terror are clear enough, but just from a woman’s angle, one doesn’t need to be a woman to want Islam to end in some places, to see how horrible Muslimahs lives are in some places . . . combine with a chastity belt (Christianity) and wallah, a semi-Cyborg . . . how much do some of the very worse among Muslets hate life or procreation that makes them treat women like this, makes the ‘no condoms’ Catholic lot seem humane even though abortion IS A HUMAN RIGHT.

Full Comment’s Araminta Wordsworth brings you a daily round-up of quality punditry from across the globe. Today: It’s the statistics, stupid!

There are more than 83 million people living in Egypt, the Middle East’s most populous nation; 90% of them are Sunni Muslims. More than half dwell in small towns and villages in the countryside and tend to be deeply conservative, attached to tradition. There is a small, urban, educated upper-middle class of liberals and left-wingers.

If these people get the vote, guess who the majority would go for? Under these circumstances, the dramatic swing from dictatorship through democracy to dictatorship is all too sadly predictable.

Now, Mohammed Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood member who was elected Egyptian president in June, is showing his true colours — he’s like Hosni Mubarak with a beard. He wants nothing less than an Islamic state, with sharia law and Muslim clerics empowered to render legal opinions.

His idea of reaching out to the opposition is to restate his position, as he did in last week’s speech. This was so devoid of anything resembling reconciliation or fresh ideas, the BBC cut off the live feed after about seven minutes.

Instead, Morsi is calling on the military to do his dirty work, arresting and trying civilians. Brotherhood members have also resorted to torture and the kind of vigilante “justice” that was a feature of the ancient regime. In their view, opponents are Mubarak supporters and/or paid troublemakers.

The Economist for one has seen the writing on the wall.

[Morsi’s actions have polarized Egypt’s exhausted people. The most populous and politically pivotal Arab state stands on the brink of prolonged civil strife, or a descent into a form of veiled dictatorship not unlike the one so recently overthrown, only this time in drab Islamist garb …
The abruptness of the Islamists’ lunge for control has ignited Egypt’s hitherto fractious opposition in outrage, prompting protests on the scale of those during the revolution. A group of former presidential candidates has picked Mohamed ElBaradei, a Nobel peace prize-winner and former UN official, as their leader, and threatened strikes and continued protests until Mr. Morsi relents. The judges, who usually run such things, plan to boycott the referendum. But he shows no signs of backing down. Tired, impoverished and apprehensive, ordinary Egyptians may be tempted to let the Muslim Brotherhood have their way.

Morsi remains intent on strictly following the course of the Muslim Brotherhood. The Islamist group wants to see their man, who won a narrow victory in summer elections, to put Egypt on the path to fundamentalist Islam. And the Muslim Brotherhood is in no mood for compromise. After more than 80 years in the political underground, Brotherhood leaders have decided to seize their chance. And Morsi increasingly looks the part of a fainthearted Brotherhood puppet. He appears to have accepted his country’s descent into violence, making more clashes on the streets of Cairo inevitable.

At The National Review, Andrew C. McCarthy says Egypt’s unravelling was inevitable.

Here’s the late-breaking news: The Muslim Brotherhood is the enemy of democracy. … the Muslim Brotherhood is an innately, incorrigibly Islamic-supremacist outfit. Wherever it establishes a presence, it seeks — as gradually as indigenous conditions require, and as rapidly as they allow — to implement its repressive construction of sharia. Wherever it gets the opportunity to rule, it uses its power to impose this sharia, despite resistance from the society’s non-Islamist factions.

This is not a mere theory. Egypt, the world’s most important Arab country, is violently convulsing before our eyes in direct reaction to the suffocation that is Islamist rule. So, will we finally take the lesson? Will we finally come to understand why democracy and Islamic supremacism cannot coexist? Ebrahim Moosa, an Islamic studies prof at North Carolina’s Duke University, believes the Egyptian president and his Islamic allies badly misjudged the situation.

Mr. Morsi seems to have forgotten the sensitivity that a country freshly freed from decades of despotism might feel towards anything with an odour of dictatorship. Secretive and inward-looking, the Brotherhood appears surprised by the depth of mistrust that many Egyptians, including pious Muslims of every social class, feel towards them. The Islamists’ constituency remains large and their organising power formidable. “They will rally the poor with the slogan: to be a Muslim, vote yes for the constitution and confound the infidels,” predicts Muhammad Nour Farahat, a law professor at Cairo’s Zagazig University. Yet even if Mr Morsi and his Brothers manage to pull this off, a heavy cloud will remain over their rule.

Why not the military just take over and do away with the Islamist b.s. and revive a BENEVOLENT Constitutional Pharoanate via DNA testing to determine the closest Royal Egyptian bloodline? A BENEVOLENT Grand Vizier from the military would well be tolerated even for LIFE (if all unused state land is redistribited to the landless or homeless in Egypt) while the country RE-EGYPTIANISES. This would be preferable to this potential threat of the Muslim Brotherhood Islamist imposition of Hudud or Syariah under Morsi which does not need to be written into the constitution and instead remain seperate from the State. Religion and State are not to be confused into a single item under any Islamist leaning Constitution. Let the Muslets impose their own laws on theselves, LEAVE THE SECULARITY OF STATE ALONE.

WHERE IS THE Pharoah’s Brotherhood or Amon-Ra’s Brotherhood to counter the Muslim Brotherhood? Freemasonry across the world could accept no less!

This is EGYPT and Cairo, Alexandria, Luxor, the central symbol of the Egyptian civilisation is THE PYRAMID OF THE PHAROAHS . . . NOT ARABIA and Mecca or Medina, the central symbol of the Arabian civilisation is THE CUBE OF KABAA.

Egypt is not Arabia.

Adopt EGYPTIAN NAMES not keep using those ARABIAN NAMES (the wealthier can trace their DNA down to the nobility or even Kings if they try hard enough). Pray and worship at EGYPTIAN Temples. Respect a revived Egyptian Priesthood not a Foreign Priesthood that answers to a foreign Arab King. Wear Egyptian garb. In Egypt, if the Egyptian people have the will, an Egyptian King is even possible (Constitutional Monarch), or an Egyptian Pharoah rather.

Learn Hieratic instead of Arabic and remember that EGYPTIAN culture and polytheistic EGYPTIAN religion (well if the people are as lazy as Akenathan, worship Amon-Ra instead for a while NOT the Kabaa – even as the Aabakian Octohedron Cult arises on the Mecc(h)an Antipode) are well loved the world over, as opposed to Islamism’s monotheistic malaise and penchant for association with oil and terror, rampant disrespectful proselytization and sometimes forced conversions.

At least some Egyptians seem to remember who they are . . . the Egyptian Pantheon’s first High Priest perhaps? Imhotep! Imhotep! Imhotep II rather . . .

(The Star) – Hair dressing salon operators are learning the hard way that gender segregation rules in Kelantan apply to non-Muslims as well. They have had to pay many summonses for allowing their female workers to cut the hair of non-Muslim male patrons, which they thought was permissible.

E-Life Hair Salon manager Ong Lee Ting said she had settled 11 summonses since she opened for business in KB Mall in 2010.

Hairy situation: Ong showing one of the 11 summonses she received for allowing her female employees to cut the hair of non-Muslim male patrons.Hairy situation: Ong showing one of the 11 summonses she received for allowing her female employees to cut the hair of non-Muslim male patrons.

The fines were imposed under Section 107(2) of the Local Council Act by-laws which prohibits a woman from cutting the hair of a man and vice versa regardless of religion.

“I have been paying fines of between RM200 and RM350,” said Ong, who was issued the latest summons on Tuesday.

“I find the by-laws confusing … they should not apply to a non-Muslim woman cutting the hair of a non-Muslim man.”

Gender segregation is among the controversial regulations imposed by the PAS state government, which insists that the rule be also observed at supermarket check-outs.

The last time Ong went to the local council office to pay a compound, she was told that the licence for the salon would be revoked because of the many summonses issued to the operator.

However, council secretary Mohd Anis Hussein said: “As long as they (the salon owners) pay the compounds, they will be allowed to operate.”

He added that the salon owners understood the by-laws and the consequences of ignoring them.

Nice Hair Salon manager Alice Ong Lee Ruong was baffled by the rule.

“I would understand it if we were fined for allowing our women workers to cut the hair of Muslim men. But they were attending to non-Muslim men,” she said.

Ong, who had settled 10 summonses so far, wondered for how long she would have to pay fines.

“They are not cheap and we have to consider the high rental, salaries of our workers and other expenses,” she said.

Another salon manager, who declined to be named, said the council by-laws were making life difficult for hair dressers.

(The Star) – The DAP wants the Kelantan government to intervene in the municipal council by-laws prohibiting women from cutting men’s hair in the state.

Chairman Karpal Singh said he was surprised that the state decided to enforce such a ruling on non-Muslims.

“The state government has publicly declared that Islamic laws will not be extended to non-Muslims. PAS has also stated hudud will only be applied to Muslims.

“There’s a lot of concern among the public on what has happened in Kelantan. If hudud is allowed to be applicable to Muslims, there will come (a time that it will) be extended to non-Muslims,” he told a press conference in Air Itam on Saturday.

He was responding to reports that hair salon operators in the PAS-ruled state were being fined for breaching the by-laws which prohibit a woman from cutting the hair of a man and vice versa.

Karpal Singh said the ruling was unconstitutional and could be challenged in court.

“In fact, it should be challenged in court. Those concerned should not pay the fines. It is unlawful.

“I hope that the PAS leadership will intervene and do something about it as soon as possible,” he said adding that Barisan Nasional should not be presented with issues that it can exploit now that the general election is looming.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Anything and everything BUT ending the APARTHEID of BUMIPUTERA eh? Karpal has become the Hairdressers/Barber’s Association President or State Chinese Association Prsident now? This sort of case is even below the Chinese or Indian Chamber of Commerce or State Chinese Association to address (while in the same breath, we must be aware that the Chinese or Indian Chamber of Commerce, State Chinese Association, probably can’t even talk about the APARTHEID oF BUMIPUTERA because they do not have parliamentary immunity – maybe a provision for them to also be granted parliamentary immunity?) , but somehow Karpal can’t talk about the APARTHEID of BUMIPUTERA in spite of parliamentary immunity so this is a great opportunity to look busy while the minoriites remain second class citizens . . . look here ‘Karpal’ if you don’t want to put that Parliamentary Immunity to good use, please give up that decades long seat you’re wasting the Rakyats’s mandate on, to somebody who will use the same to try to end the APARTHEID of BUMIPUTERA and lack of :

Is Karpal a REAL lawyer and aware of the responsibility of an MP to the people? Most Malays and Muslims, probably also the Sultans know in their hearts that apartheid is wrong and that technically in Islam the APARTYHEID of BUMIPUTERA is ILLEGAL. Why does Karpal not HONESTLY and legally challenge the racists and Islamists on these facts? Self serving much? Too many family members, too many contracts colluded on? So does the rakyat need this kind of MP or perhaps has karpal and Sons family bloc spent too much time hoodwinking the Rakyat? An MP’s job goes far beyond this hair issue, like for Human Rights Articles 1 and 18 . . . do something useful or MP-like, or GTFO of Dewan!

Mediocre! And in overall effectiveness, Karpal is but a decades long malingerer on the taxpayer dollar alongside BN’s racism and corrupted worst …

Indian leaders may jump ship if they are not picked as candidates in the coming general election, says a source.

Infighting, backbiting and sabotaging among Indian leaders in PKR could result in the party losing Indian support at the upcoming 13th general election.

The internal rift among these leaders could also play a role in thwarting Pakatan Rakyat’s ambition of taking over the federal government after the polls. The opposition pact is made of PKR, DAP and PAS.

Speaking to FMT, a PKR source admitted that there would be “major party hopping” among Indians in PKR before and after the general election.

Declining to be named, the source said many Indians in the party were waiting for PKR to officially announce its list of Indian candidates to contest under the PKR banner in the coming general election.

“If their names are overlooked as a candidate, then they would jump ship to the Barisan Nasional or quit PKR without joining anyone… they have already made plans to this effect.”

“Unlike PAS and DAP which have a long tradition and faithful members, PKR is a new set-up. Most of its members are from BN component parties. They ran from there to PKR. They ran because they were sidelined in their respective BN component parties. So when the same thing happens here, they would run again,” said the source.

He said the problem among Indian leaders in PKR is “everyone wants a seat to contest”.

“Of course, both Malays and Chinese in PKR also face the same scenario but Indians are the worst,” said the source, who is very close to the party leadership.

He said PKR Indian leaders in their eagerness to win brownie points have also resorted to “attacking” each other in the mainstream media.

Tip of the iceberg

“Some are sending their supporters to Parliament to lobby for seats. For example, I was told that more than 60 candidate profiles have been submitted for the Bukit Melawati state seat in Selangor despite the incumbent M Mutiah declaring interest in defending the seat.

“This is just the tip of the iceberg. The factions in the party are heading for a showdown,” the source said.

He claimed that PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim had often met party Indian leaders to get feedback on ways to boost Indian support for Pakatan, but not much was done on the ground to put the plans into action.

“But, this is not enough to woo Indian votes. The Indian leaders in the party are not united. If they are, then they can put up a strong front and lobby for votes of the community. There are several camps within the party and each camp is pressuring Anwar for seats.

Mukhriz (centre bottom), is not a Pakatan MP, just included to show possible phenotype similarities between politicians who benefited from nepotism if any . . .

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Indian candidates are you idiots? Who needs to pressure Anwar? Any independent candidate can run for any seat without pressuring anyone. The whole idea of a political party is to keep all MPs captive to the supreme council. Podah!

ARTICLE 4

‘Anwar is an attention seeker’ – Friday, 23 November 2012 Super Admin

Several BN leaders are appalled at Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim’s attempt to get Australia to observe Malaysia’s general election.

G Vinod, FMT

An MIC leader today chided Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim for seeking attention, especially with his call to Australia to observe the coming general election.

MIC vice-president SK Devamany was referring to Anwar’s move to request the Australian government recently to observe the polls, claiming there were a lot of irregularities in the electoral roll.

However, Australia’s Foreign Minister Bob Carr had rejected the former deputy prime minister’s request, saying they cannot and would not influence how Malaysia runs its election.

“It’s very hard for Australia to do anything about how they’re run, as hard as it would be for Malaysia or another government to have a say in how Australian elections are run.

“We’re not the election authority for Malaysia,” Carr was reported as saying.

Taking Anwar to task, Devamany said that times have changed and the world community is watching each other’s conduct in the information age.

“No point trying to seek attention from other people. They are watching us all the time,” he said.

As for Anwar’s accusation, the deputy minister said that the Barisan Nasional government is transparent and the former could always voice his grouses to the EC.

“He can always use his position as the opposition leader to get things done. But being the attention seeker he is, Anwar will devise new tactics to keep himself relevant.

“No wonder some Pakatan Rakyat leaders are seeking PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang to become prime minister if the opposition bloc wins the federal polls,” said Devamany.

Risk of being colonised again

Echoing Devamany’s sentiments, People’s Progressive Party (PPP) president M Kayveas said that it was dangerous to get foreign powers to be involved in Malaysia’s election.

He also said that with foreign powers’ aid, the party benefiting from them would be indebted to the former and thus, put Malaysia at risk of being “colonised” again.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

To prevent the colonisation factor, NO foreign government based groups people should to be invited keep tabs on the elections, BUT *ELECTION WATCHDOG GROUPS* from foreign and Australian and other non-Western governments should instead. In fact Australian Elections and other Western nations could do with foreign watchdog groups from other countries ESPECIALLY those not particularly friendly to Australia, to prevent fifth columnists manipulating votes to the favour of their own government. Who knows what collusion goes on between governments these days? Foreign governments cannot monitor without compromising the sovereignty of the monitored state.

Instead, unaffiliated to government/unfunded by government civil society WATCHDOG NGOs favouring opposition would be safest. Anwar thus could be in cahooots with the current majority Australian government with the same feigning disinterest. Now if watchdog groups unfriendly to their respective foreign governments were to be called on as monitors, having nothing to gain, these groups would be the most objective choice. This accusation could be avoided simply by Anwar contacting non-mainstream foreign monitors instead. As for attention seeking, 2 terms as MP limits should put paid to that sort of thing once and for all. For expedience, Anwar could be tolerated for now, but the next great purging of politicians will not be those corrupt, opaque and racist (BN era) but those NEPOTISTIC and TERM LIMITLESS (PR era). This would be true progress then to prevent a Mubarak, Gaddafi or Ali Salleh from forming out of term limitless Anwars and Lim Kit Siangs or whatever groups.

(Bernama) – Lawyer Karpal Singh, acting for applicant Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, told the High Court here Friday that the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012 had completely prohibited the right to assemble, by way of street protest.

The senior lawyer said the provision under Section 4(1)(c) was not intended to “restrict” but more to “prohibit” the right to assemble.

“Any street protest, actually, was a moving assembly and the Act should not completely prohibit it,” contended Karpal by pointing out on the provision of Section 4(1)(c) of the Act, which he argued, was inconsistent and contravened with the provision of Article 10 (1)(b) of the Federal Constitution.

He said the Act defined a street protest as an assembly that was in movement.

“Even Article 10(1)(b) clearly stated that all citizens have the right to assemble peaceably, without arms,” he noted.

He further submitted that the word, ‘restriction’, should be interpreted as reasonable restriction as stated in Article 10, and the constitution was the supreme law of the country.

“Any law passed after Merdeka Day, which is inconsistent with the constitution, should be declared void,” said Karpal, who urged Justice Kamardin Kashim to allow Anwar’s application with costs.

Kamardin set Nov 30, for respondent (prosecution) to reply to the applicant’s submission Friday.

In a related development, Anwar’s co-counsel, Ram Karpal Singh, said if the court ruled in Anwar’s favour, one of the charges under the Peaceful Assembly Act would be dropped, leaving only two charges still pending at the Sessions Court.

Anwar, 64, together with Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) deputy president Mohamed Azmin Ali, 48, and Rembau PKR branch chief Badrul Hisham Shaharin (third accused), 34, were charged last May 22, with taking part in street demonstrations which allegedly led to chaos in the city.

The three also faced a second charge of conniving with Tangam Raju, Rajesh Kumar Gejinder and Farhan Ibrahim, by inciting them to remove steel barricades at Jalan Raja here on the same day.

They are the first to be charged under Section 4(2)(c) of the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012, which carries a fine of up to RM10,000, upon conviction.

Last July 2, the trio were charged with conspiring with Tangam, Rajesh, Farhan and five or more supporters of ‘Gabungan Pilihan Raya Bersih dan Adil (Bersih 3.0)’ to defy a magistrate’s court order dated April 26, against holding a rally at Dataran Merdeka from April 28 until May 1, this year.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Excuse me. No citizen needs to ‘assemble’ or riot IF our worthless waste of time nepotistic term limitless MPs (Karpal included) make the effort to end Bumiputra Apartheid or are not corrupt. This assembly thing is USELESS and has no weight legally. The wishes of 26 million Malaysians could be stopped by 222 self serving nepotistic and term limitless MPs simply because not enough Malaysians dare to be independents, there is always 3rd Force but even 3rd Force must respect term limits and preferably allow 1-Man-1-Vote systems in ratifying laws or at least ratifying laws on a district by district level.

An MP legally challenging the inequality and apartheid has more weight than 26 million Malaysians illegally marching. Is Karpal a false flag MP? Any and all Malays and other minorities who believe in neutrality and equality by changing the ILLEGAL and DISCRIMINATIVE Constitutional clauses and laws should give term limitless farces like Karpal here the boot. I’d DROP the right to peacefully assembly in exchange for ending APARTHEID and the below 3 items. Now think, which MP is worth voting for. The one who gives you the ‘right to assemble‘ which is the ‘precursor to riot‘ (there is nothing assembling can do, so frustrated assemblers end up RIOTING) but has no effect on policy, or the MP who grants equality and end of apartheid on your behalf so you do not need to march?

Previously, we reported how Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysia’s oppositions leader has been “framed” with several sex tapes HERE.

While Anwar Ibrahim has denied he is the porn star featured in those sex tapes, it’s very obvious these explicit videos which you can watch below and read more here, are either recorded or simply made up and released with only one thing in mind … Political Assassination.

It’s designed to end the political career of Anwar Ibrahim and to kill the fragile oppositions of Malaysia,which is fighting to boot out the legacy government left behind by Asia’s most corrupt dictator, Mahathir Mohamad, and allegation that can never be proven simply because everything including the judiciary is answerable to only one man in Malaysia ie. the Prime Minister … and yes, it’s that absurd.

The country is currently helm by son of an ex-premier, who himself is laden with all sort of scandalous allegations including corruption and even … MURDER !

I love Malaysia.

Below is the latest “satire” from a pro-government newspaper (Fact: all newspaper in Malaysia are required by law to report only pro-government news. There is no press freedom in Malaysia.)

Go here if you just wanna know more about the sex scandal.

Swimming against the tide

By Joceline Tan @ Star Malaysia

The free Rolls Royce offer to any Anwar Ibrahim look-alike out there has gone unclaimed and US experts have verified the sex video to be authentic. What now for the leader of the Opposition?

NOBODY has claimed the Rolls Royce that is currently stretched out like a sexy lady on the porch of Zamil Ibrahim’s house.

The former PKR politician does not see anyone coming forward now that the country’s most talked-about sex video has been found to be authentic.

Zamil, who is now the Kedah chief of the new political party Kita, said he decided to put his prized wheels on the line because he became sick and tired of hearing claims that the man in the video was merely someone who looks like Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Posh car: No takers for the sleek and beautiful Rolls Royce which is still sitting on the porch of Zamil’s house in Kedah. Inset: Zamil who loves the Rolls Royce.

“I couldn’t take any more of the nonsense that it was an Anwar look-alike,” he said.

Zamil loves the beautiful vintage Rolls the way some Malay men love their second wives. Nevertheless, he was prepared to hand over the Rolls to the person whom Anwar’s supporters claimed had been the Anwar look-alike in the video. It was one of those droll manoeuvres loaded with political irony.

But deep down, Zamil is relieved the car will remain his. It is very similar to the Rolls Royce owned by no less than Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Taib Mahmud except that Zamil’s is in better condition. The engine purrs, the dashboard gleams with polish and the leather seats are in a plush taupe.

Just a fortnight ago, a Chinese friend borrowed the car for his son’s wedding. Zamil loaned the car plus his own driver because he did not want unfamiliar hands at the wheel.
Up against the wall: The sex video episode has reached a pivotal point and Pakatan parties are preparing to move on without Anwar who is seen here officiating at a new PKR branch in Kubang Pasu, Kedah.

There has been no love lost between Zamil and Anwar since the day Zamil claimed he was played out by Anwar over a position in PKR. Unfortunately for Anwar, Zamil does not take broken promises lightly and his quest for vengeance is far from over. A few days ago, Zamil lodged a police report on the police report that Anwar made to deny that he is the man in the video. Zamil’s contention is that Anwar had lodged a false police report.

A lot of water has passed under the bridge since the sex video scandal exploded back in March. The so-called Datuk Trio comprising Tan Sri Rahim Thamby Chik, Datuk Eskay Abdullah and Datuk Shuib Ismail has been charged and convicted. Expert opinion from the US is that the video is genuine and the man in it was reported to be “99.99% Anwar.”

End of story? Not quite – the end is still nowhere in sight for this controversial sex video.

“We have passed the climax but this thing has the look of an epic,” said film-maker and Umno blogger Syed Azidi Syed Aziz, who is better known by his blogging name Kickdefella.

Talk is rife of a few more videos in the wings, as well as an explosive photograph. The Datuk Trio is not the sort of people you would want to fool around with, as PKR politician and Sungai Petani MP Johari Abdul has learnt.

Johari, who was among the first people the Trio invited to view the video, recently found himself the collateral damage in the controversy. Johari has been going about denying that it is Anwar but last week, the PKR side released a video which featured Johari rubbishing the Trio and the sex video. His account was obviously timed to coincide with the Trio’s court conviction.

The Trio reacted by unleashing footage of Johari watching the sex video during which he appeared to acknowledge that it was Anwar. Johari did not come out very well from it and, if he knows better, this was just a warning from the Trio.

They obviously have more stuff than what has been seen to date given how cocksure they have been about their claims and actions as well as their willingness to swear on the Quran in the mosque.

But whether the Trio comes up with more of the same is not going to matter very much from now.

The sex video episode has reached a pivotal point with the conviction of the Trio and the authentication of the video. For months, Pakatan politicians had challenged the authorities to charge the Trio, and their conviction has taken the fire out of Pakatan’s artillery.

Pakatan politicians have generally ducked the issue of whether the video was authentic or fake. Only one DAP politician had called for the video to be authenticated. He was quietly asked to shut up and no other Pakatan figure has since made such demands.

Their standard line of defence has been that this is “politik lucah” or vulgar politics while PAS took the Islamic and diplomatic way out by insisting that such cases require four witnesses. Very few of them have put their reputation on the line to say that it is not Anwar. Johari is one of them.

But there are still people out there who do not want to accept that the video is authentic despite the tests and analyses by the academic institute in the US.

At the same time, not all of those who agree that the man is Anwar approve of the entrapment. They feel that political victory or defeat should take place via a political contest rather than through sex traps.

But it is increasingly difficult for Pakatan and especially PKR politicians to go on insisting that it is not Anwar.

When asked about this, a PKR official would only say: “Let the public decide whether they believe the 99.99% finding.”

Some people think Anwar is finished. Actually, he is far from finished but fewer people now think he is going to be the next Prime Minister – or even that he is Prime Minister material.

A serious matter

“Non-Muslims regard this as a private matter. But for us Muslims, it is a serious thing. I haven’t seen the video but my friends have seen it and they can decide for themselves,” said a top PAS figure.

Anwar’s problem is the growing element of doubt among the swing group, especially the Malay middle ground. The hardcore supporters on either side will remain where they are; it is the swing group that Pakatan has to be worried about.

Anwar probably feels it when he goes on the ceramah circuit. The crowds are there but he knows they are also checking out his belly, his chest and even his nose as they are listening to him. Fortunately, his stomach is quite flat now that he has lost so much weight and is looking rather gaunt.

The sex video, for one, has been a top topic at the ceramah series organised by the Pasir Salak division. Umno ceramah can be quite boring affairs but this one not only had the crowd’s attention but had them tickled too.

At one ceramah, the speaker said that given the sex-related incidents associated with the opposition leader, “the whole thing is beginning to look like a hobby.”

“Hobbies are okay, but people with this type of hobby, it’s better they don’t try to become the Prime Minister,” said the speaker.

Another speaker said: “Many of us have seen the video, the experts have said it is real, we know it’s him, what else is there to argue. Only the PAS leaders are still arguing as though they know everything, as if they were in the bedroom, under the bed.”

The ceramah series is the brainchild of Pasir Salak Umno politician Dr Faizal Tajuddin who wanted to counter and neutralise the string of ceramah by PAS, which has been parading its latest celebrity recruit, Bob Lokman, the Malay rocker who said he joined PAS because he wanted to go to heaven.

The main target is PAS but the sex video is one of the bullets being used by Dr Faizal’s team.

Many are also waiting to see whether Anwar’s wife and daughter, both politicians, will come forward to defend him again now that the video has been vetted as genuine. The family is said to have been in turmoil since the video surfaced in March but they have no choice but to keep up a united front.

It is quite clear by now that Anwar needs Pakatan more than Pakatan needs him. He was a superhero in the aftermath of March 2008 but Pakatan is now shouldering him through his personal problems.

Anwar’s nemesis, Kita president Datuk Zaid Ibrahim, put it quite bluntly when he said the opposition has been “utterly compromised” by Anwar and that the latter is “destroying the credibility of the opposition.”

Zaid was equally critical of the authority’s handling of the sex video, describing it as “foolish and clumsy”, all of which added up to what he described as “the tragedy of Malaysian politics.”

Pakatan leaders know it as well. Privately, they are already talking of a revived role for Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah in the near future. Dr Wan Azizah has been playing the role of dutiful wife rather than PKR president but Pakatan leaders are ready to accept her if Anwar is indisposed.

“Kak Wan will still lead. We can work with her even though she is not up to mark,” said the same PAS figure.

PKR deputy president Azmin Ali is experienced and capable but the Pakatan leaders are still uncomfortable with him. Rising star Nurul Izzah is ambitious but still very green and her haste to be noticed has seen her mired in embarrassing boo-boos such as claiming that the Malaysian submarine could not dive whereas it has dived to its maximum depth off the coast of Sabah with no less than the King onboard.

Recently, Anwar claimed he had the clout to call off the Bersih rally if he wanted to, implying he was still in charge. The rally’s figurehead leader Datuk S. Ambiga immediately shot back that the rally is on.

It was a slap in the face for Anwar. The Bersih rally is basically a PAS show and it is the clearest sign that Anwar’s centrestage placing in Pakatan politics has been hijacked by PAS.

Moreover, the new PAS battle cry is “PAS ganti Umno”, the implication being that PAS has the ability to replace Umno and that can only mean one thing – PAS is positioning itself to dominate in the general election and claim the Prime Ministership.

Pakatan parties are preparing to move on without Anwar. His role as an intermediary between PAS and DAP is quite redundant now that the Erdogans are in charge in PAS. The Erdogans speak the same political language as DAP leaders and they can sit at the same table with DAP.

There is even talk that if Anwar cannot defend Permatang Pauh in the next general election, Nurul Izzah will go there since the election law disqualifies Dr Wan Azizah from contesting a seat which she resigned from.

The days when Anwar could walk on water are over. He is swimming against the current.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

This is an old article, but lookalikes can be easily created given the amount of funds BN has. They could get the nearest looking lookalike ‘Anwar’ add abit of plastic surgery or anyone in the opposition and make them do all kinds of porn for release in the internet EVERY week or make the fakes ‘say things’ that are politically destructive which will be presented as insider records etc.. Chua Soi Lek could have been smart enough to dodge the bullet but chose to be honest, bravo, but a person who would be honest about invasion of privacy vids, yet not want to challenge apartheid is an oxymoron of sorts. As for Pakatan, the problem still stands and very clearly that Pakatan is a CLOSED party. I have at least tried quite indirectly to sound Pakatan out, and noted the extreme fear and prevention of ‘outside’ forces taking over. Then after Pakatan’s sacrifice of Teo Beng Hock, perhaps was best that some of us were not invited to join anyway. After doing the scrimmage work, the least that some politicians could have done was not betray their would-be supporters to the psychiatric establishment . . .

2 sides of the same Rakyat oppressive coin?

We’d be better off setting up a 3rd Force party to remove the cynical apartheid tolerating hudud accepting guys with similar looking wives (Betty and Rosmah might as well be the same person), drop 50% of DAP’s nepotists I say . . . those undemocratic creeps are very harmful to the country, as is any who are term limitless and nepotistic and refuse to make clear on :

;while touting Hudud or an Islamist party PAS par excellence Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood. These Islamists are all the same IMHO, when courting the voters, they say nice things but after gaining power, they turn all Islamist and start persecuting everyone. MCA, MIC, Gerakan and PPP however have entirely failed to seperate from BN to lead 3rd force which I list below :

Proposed 3rd Force Party

End the APARTHEID and drop the racists. or get the racists to drop apartheid if BN wants GE13. Other than that, the mandate which is unused as of now would likely become Pakatan’s, a much worse option in many ways.

ARTICLE 7

Pakatan must do more for Penang Malays – Saturday, 24 November 2012 Super Admin

The Malays in Penang want a Malay Deputy Chief Minister to look after their interests

To this, the congress’ president Rahmad Isahak said it was becoming clear that both PKR and PAS have failed to maintain Pakatan Rakyat’s hold on the Malays.

Hawkeye, FMT

The Penang Malay Congress has called on DAP to consider appointing a Malay to become the next Deputy Chief Minister (DCM) I if the present leader, PKR’s Mansor Othman, relinquishes the post in favour of contesting a parliament seat.

The rumour mill is working overtime in Penang now since PKR supremo Anwar Ibrahim announced last week that Mansor, a party vice-president, will contest the Nibong Tebal parliament seat.

The seat is presently held by Tan Tee Beng who had won the seat under the PKR banner in 2008 but has since become an Independent.

Anwar declined to comment on whether Mansor will be allowed to defend his present Penanti state seat on the mainland.

To this, the congress’ president Rahmad Isahak said it was becoming clear that both PKR and PAS have failed to maintain Pakatan Rakyat’s hold on the Malays.

Moving Mansor out of Penang, stengthens the congress’ belief that Pakatan is concerned about the Malay ground here and confirms that the Malay electorate is disappointed with them, Rahmad said.

Mansor has been underfire for the last three years for failing to champion Malay issues well, and he is often seen as being subservient to Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.

To arrest an alleged decline in Malay support, Rahmad said Pakatan needs to revamp its present leadeship allocation.

A Malay DAP candidate, who wins in the next election, should instead be made the DCM I as this will demonstrate to the people that the party is committed to the Malays, Rahmad said.

Talk is that Penang DAP will consider fielding at least two Malay candidates here to challenge the perception among the Malay community that it is a Chinese party.

DAP’s failure to field any Malays may also give rise to a number of independent candidates – sponsored by Malay civil groups where 23 organisations have sprouted up in Penang since 2008.

Rahmad said the Malays in Penang have become restless due to the inability of the DAP-led state government to effectively address their socio-economic issues.

The community’s grouses are over the lack of affordable housing, erosion of their heritage and culture values, made worse by the demolition of traditional villages on the island and the lack of quality jobs despite a record number of fresh investments.

“If you ask a critically minded Malay if they support Pakatan, they remain speechless. It is not because Pakatan failed them, it is because the issues of the community has gone unnoticed by the inexperienced government for the past four years.”

The Malay dilemma

The Malays are now venting their anger on PKR and PAS for failure to convince DAP over the critical need to look at the community’s issues.

Even during Barisan’s era, the Malay community here has been stirring up issues and expressing their anger, Rahmad said in an interview.

The Malays are in a dilemma here because if they support Pakatan, there is a preception out there that their issues will not be effectively resolved unless a strong-willed Malay leader is appointed as the Deputy Chief Minister I, Rahmad said.

On the other hand, it is pointless to support Umno as the party is part of the Barisan Nasional coalition, which is finding it increasingly difficult to regain acceptance in Penang, he said.

;so that the minorities will not care what race the CM is. Frankly Penang has had a minority CM for too long, on the other hand ALL OTHER Sultanate led STATES have had Malay MBs for too long as well. The door swings both ways . . .

ARTICLE 8

Najib: Change can happen with the same government – by Ida Lim – November 24, 2012

Najib addresses the crowd at the Barisan 1 Malaysia gathering at the Putra World Trade Centre who respond by raising one finger. — Picture by Saw Siow Feng
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 24 — A change in government is not necessary for changes in the country, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said today.

The ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) is ready to change, said Najib, who is also chairman of the 13-member coalition.

“… BN is not a party that is inflexible. We are ready to change.

“Change can happen in our country and we have proven that not necessarily we change government, but we can bring big change with the same government,” Najib said at the Barisan 1 Malaysia gathering at the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) here.

He also hinted that the government may give more cash handouts to the people if the country is well-managed.

He was speaking about the government’s financial aid to the working class and other sections of society, such as giving out tyres to taxi drivers and cash handouts to singles under the Bantuan Rakyat 1 Malaysia (BR1M) 2.0 scheme, before hinting that more handouts were possible.

“Boleh lagi. We (can) give more in the future with the condition that our country is managed well.

“And all these we are able to do because in the past four years, we have proven that this is not an empty promise…” Najib said.

;no change can be expected. BN has the mandate to grant the above now. Why has BN not used that mandate to grant the above? This proves there will be no change. The above 3 items cost nothing to implement.

NOV 19 — Unless appropriate formal and equitable engagement mechanisms are put in place, civil society will be not be in a position to effectively advocate for and ensure the protection of human rights in the region. This is the lesson to be gleaned from the adoption of the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration (AHRD) yesterday (November 18) during the ASEAN Summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

The inability of civil society organisations (CSOs) to meaningfully engage with members of ASEAN over the establishment of institutional and normative human rights frameworks to date explains the limited effectiveness of their advocacy in securing a real protection mechanism for the people of ASEAN.

Much of the discussion emerging from yesterday’s release of AHRD has focused on the criticism by CSOs over the lack of adherence to international human rights standards and the rejoinder by ASEAN governmental representative that the tone of the current AHRD is what is politically feasible now within the regional grouping. But the root problem remains the lack of access of CSOs to the inter-governmental process that has crafted institutional mechanisms and the AHRD.

Over the last two years, CSOs seeking to advance the protection of human rights in the nascent ASEAN human rights regime have been confronted with a regional association and member governments that are still deeply wedded to the principle of non-interference and the primacy of national laws.

Beginning with the ASEAN Charter in 2008, which promised the establishment of a human rights body, CSOs have been pressuring member governments to adopt a mechanism that would speak to international standards and include a protection mechanism. At each step towards formalising a regional mechanism, for example in 2009 in the run up to the drafting of the Terms of Reference for the AICHR and now in 2012 in the drafting of AHRD, CSOs have tried their level best to engage with ASEAN but in vain.

On the adoption of the ADHR in Phnom Penh on November 18, CSO criticisms of the declaration continued unabated. While Singapore’s Representative to the AICHR, Chang Heng Chee, hailed the advent of the “peer-review” mechanism and the ADHR as “the best that could be done” in the social and political context, the CSO exclusion from the process of crafting a human rights regime remains a blatant fact.

Some 60 CSOs wrote to ASEAN leaders requesting the postponement of the signing given serious flaws in the document. Echoing strongly their comments, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, also called for the same and has stated: “I am surprised and disappointed that the draft declaration has not been made public and that civil society has not been consulted in the drafting of the document.”

Poignant criticisms have pointed to AHRD failings to meet existing international standards and the risks of creating a sub-standard level of rights protection in the region.

Pillay has cited as an example the provision on the right to life which, she said, should not be contingent on domestic laws that can be used to justify state-sponsored violence. Further, ASEAN governments want the enjoyment of rights to be balanced with the “performance of duties” and be subject to “national and regional contexts”.

Rights in the region therefore stand to be restricted on a wide range of grounds, including “national security” and “public morality”. The declaration is further criticised for having too many loopholes that may permit states to bypass international standards. Even Surin Pitsuwan, speaking at the ASEAN Summit in Phnom Penh, admitted: “This document can be improved upon.”

On such substantive matters critical to the well-being of all ASEAN citizens, CSOs have been confronted with ASEAN member-states’ strategy of selective and limited engagement with CSOs to date over the establishment of a human rights regime in the region. The entire project of crafting a human rights regime is pursued purely as an inter-governmental activity.

With no institutionalised mechanism for consultation, CSO engagement has only been accommodated on a piece-meal basis and only because of the tireless advocacy, persistence and pressure by regional CSOs. This state of affairs has neutralised CSOs’ ability to advocate successfully for the protection of human rights in the region.

Such a purely inter-governmental approach is entirely out of step with how inter-governmental organisations such as the UN, the EU and the OAS conduct their own inter-governmental activities. In those mechanisms civil society is mainstreamed into the human rights processes.

In addition to concern over core substantive dilemmas — the lack of real protection of human rights and the failure to meet international standards — the real subtext is the fact that civil society has not been mainstreamed as it should be. Lack of such mainstreaming undermines ASEAN’s own call for a more people-centred community.

Civil society organisations, which have historically played a vital role in advancing the protection of human rights globally, and the media (traditional and new), must continue and intensify their push for more transparency in the ASEAN human rights regime, for the respect of international commitments already binding upon ASEAN states, for the respect for universal standards under the UN Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and for real protection of fundamental rights.

When it comes to the development of human rights in the region, the lack of genuine consultation with CSOs by ASEAN’s member governments reflects the marginalisation of one of the important sectors within the member states. A formal consultation mechanism is vital to the protection of human rights in the region and to the creation of a more people-centred ASEAN.

* Drs James Gomez (Thammasat University) and Robin Ramcharan (Queen’s University Center for International Relations) are authors of the paper “The Protection of Human Rights in Southeast Asia: Improving the Effectiveness of Civil Society Advocacy”.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

At very least allow ALL activites for registered persons in restricted zones for a start.

From the Biblical book of Proverbs (15.33), it says: “The fear of the Lord teaches a man wisdom, and humility comes before honour.”

The Qur’an (7:94) reads as follows: “Whenever We sent a Prophet to a society, We took up its people in suffering and adversity, in order that they might learn humility.”

One seeking honour must have an attitude of humility and recognising his responsibility to others must be his priority. One such personality among the ordinary citizens is the incumbent PAS President Abdul Hadi Awang.

In his speech at the recent 58th Muktamar PAS in Kelantan, he said, “To become the prime minister is not my aim in politics. I would rather be a slave to the people.”

Be that as it may, the consensus among Pakatan allies is that Anwar Ibrahim will be made the prime minister in the event of the coalition taking over Putrajaya in the 13th general election. Of course, this is not going to make UMNO’s supreme mentor, former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, happy.

And Anwar – with his credentials, experience and international exposure – is considered by majority Malaysians to be the most qualified man to head the government.

Becoming a leader is a huge responsibility

As a devout Muslim, Hadi is aware that becoming a leader is a huge responsibility (amanah). As such, he said that “let a prime minister be a person from among those entrusted by the rakyat, who could carry out his duty in good conscience and is blessed by God”.

This unmistakeably testifies that PAS advocates the principle of democracy in politics and the tussle to become the prime minister if Pakatan takes over Putrajaya in the next election does not exist at all.

In fact, according to political observers, there is no issue of any political scrimmage within the Pakatan coalition on the issue of who shall become the prime minister. The understanding on this issue has been generally accepted by all the three parties in Pakatan – PAS, PKR and DAP.

PAS and Pakatan Rakyat are not facing a dearth of leaders. Within PAS there are many among them who have a good religious background, are professional and also well-versed with the economy that could be entrusted to lead the nation.

Notably among them are scientist-cum-economist Dzulkefly Ahmad the Member of Parliament for Kuala Selangor, former deputy governor of Bank Negara, economist and consultant Rosli Yaakop and former Menteri Besar of Perak Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin, a Member of Parliament and engineer by profession.

Unpretentiousness is the ethos found among PAS leaders. Political pundits have this to say: Even if a leader from PAS is appointed as prime minister this will not be a cause to worry among the non-Muslims. At present two states in the country have Menteri Besar from PAS – Kelantan and Kedah.

They have performed relatively well in the economic governance of the states even though they come from a religious background.

Nizar was chosen

But the best narration that could allay the fears of non-Muslims over PAS is that of what ensued in Perak in 2008. On 8 March 2008, the Pakatan Rakyat coalition in Perak won 31 seats of the 59 seat Perak State Assembly, which enabled it to form the state government with a simple majority.

The DAP commanded the most seats out of the 31 seats held by Pakatan Rakyat and were initially the claimants to the post of Menteri Besar. However, the Perak State Constitution stipulates that the menteri besar must be of Malay descent, and a non-Malay could only be appointed by a royal waiver by the Perak Palace.

To resolve this, all three parties sent their nominations for the menteri besar post to the Regent of Perak, Raja Nazrin Shah. Reluctant Nizar was chosen over Ngeh Koo Ham of the DAP and Jamaluddin Mohd Radzi of PKR on 12 March 2008 and he sworn in on 17 March 2008 at Istana Iskandariah, Kuala Kangsar.

Nizar from PAS ended up working harmoniously with all the coalition members and proved himself to become a popular menteri besar although his stint as the chief of Perak government was short-lived (17 March 2008 – 12 May 2009). This was after a controversial takeover of the State by Barisan in 2009 when three Pakatan assemblymen left the coalition to become Barisan-friendly.

On 11 May 2009, the Kuala Lumpur High Court ruled that the Sultan could not constitutionally remove Nizar from office, and that Nizar had always been the rightful menteri besar. However, Nizar at the end of the day lost the legal proceedings when, in February 2010, the Federal Court ruled Zambry Abdul Kadir from Barisan to be the lawful menteri besar.

In the same year Nizar from PAS won the Bukit Gantang parliamentary by-election with a thumping victory over the Barisan candidate (Ismail Safian) that made him a member of parliament. He clinched the support of Malays and majority non-Malays in the by-election.

Nizar proved himself as a capable and well-liked menteri besar by all the races in Perak though he represented PAS – an Islamic party. He proved himself that he could handle the state with humility, integrity and fairness.

Thus, a PAS man becoming a leader of a state or nation should not become an issue in multi-racial and democratic Malaysia.

Chua Soi Lek as prime minister

Mahathir, in a media report, was cynical when he proposed that Karpal Singh – DAP Chief, a prominent lawyer and Member of Parliament – be chosen as the prime minister in the case Pakatan wins the next general election. This must be akin to suggesting Chua Soi Lek, the MCA President to become the prime minister within the Barisan rank.

By virtue of Mahathir’s statement, if Karpal can become the prime minister of Malaysia there is no wrong then for Chua to be elevated as prime minister in Barisan. Perhaps, UMNO under their supreme guru, Mahathir, can ponder over this matter.

Mahathir insinuated that Pakatan is fractious when it comes to the appointment of a prime minister. Political observers opine that the man Mahathir fears most in life is Anwar. Anwar was ousted from the party in 1998 when Mahathir sensed that he would be sent to the political bin if he did not act fast enough on his ambitious nemesis.

Of course, Mahathir will be the most despondent man on earth if Anwar becomes the next prime minister of the country.

The country is now blessed with a two-party system and this bodes well for the people. There may be some minor differences in Pakatan as opposed to major squabbles in UMNO and Barisan.

UMNO has virtually decimated MCA, MIC and Gerakan by its Malay-centric approach to politics and is now all alone against the mounting crusade from Pakatan against Barisan.

The split in UMNO

Pakatan associates have not split to the extent of forming PKR Baru, DAP Baru or PAS Baru just to chase for the prime minister’s post.

In 1987, for the first time in twelve years, the incumbent President, Mahathir, was challenged by Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah for the Presidency of UMNO. There was a forceful campaign to win the support of the approximately 1,500 delegates from party branches all over the country, who came to elect the party officers.

Some were even accused of money politics during the intense campaigns to decide who would be the president of UMNO and subsequently the prime minister of the country.

The official results declared Mahathir the winner, with 761 votes to Razaleigh’s 718. There was a major split in UMNO after that episode all because of “a prime minister’s post”. The vanquished was not happy and brought the matter to the Court.

UMNO was later declared as an illegal entity by the Court for having some “phantom” branches.

Soon after, UMNO Baru was born – laboriously “delivered” by Mahathir – and Razaleigh left UMNO to form Semangat46. This split in UMNO has remained until today. And Razaleigh until now has not given up his hope to become the prime minister.

As Hadi said, “Becoming a leader is not because one desires to become one. It must be with the blessings of God and with the consent and support of the majority”.

Buzz is now steeping

There are many more senior UMNO proponents tussling, including the Perkasa Chief who is ambitious, to become or be made the prime minister. The incumbent Deputy UMNO President, Muhyiddin Yassin, has his own supporters who would want him to challenge Najib Abdul Razak – the present yet to be endorsed UMNO president – to become the prime minister and this buzz is now steeping in the party.

And Mahathir will not leave this world a happy man until he could be assured that his son Mukhriz is in line to the throne as well. Ambitious Khairy Jamaluddin – UMNO Youth Chief who holds no ministerial post and is more noted for his penchant for football than the welfare of UMNO – who is not in the good book of Mahathir and Najib is also very keen to become prime minister.

It was reported that Khairy did at one time boast that he wanted to become the prime minister before the age 40. His hope however is dashed under the present UMNO set-up.

Another point that should be highlighted here is that money politics has become the malady affecting UMNO party members who have been jostling up the political ladder since 1981. This mucky, corrupt and irreligious norm is not found in PAS, PKR or DAP.

More perceptible within UMNO

Pro-UMNO media is playing up the issue as though Pakatan is split over the choice of a prime minister in the event of Pakatan winning the next general election but this is a non-issue to the non-Malays as well as the Malays.

UMNO and its supreme but unpopular advice-giver have failed to unnerve those who might be concerned about Pas leading a new federal government.

In a nutshell, all the hankering and throbbing to become prime minister is more perceptible within UMNO than any of the Opposition party.

Of course Hadi in a humble way “welcomed” the sincere proposal by the Ulama Wing Chief – a polite gesture on Hadi’s part to please the enthusiastic participants – that he be chosen to become the prime minister.

But wisdom prevailed in him, as he was quick to qualify that his aim in politics was not to become a prime minister. He even warned the participants of the risks of being desperately ambitious in politics.

He then aptly said, “Leadership is a huge trust and a big responsibility. Whoever becomes the prime minister is secondary. The good values of Islam should be upheld. A leader must be trustworthy, not corrupt, of high integrity and who could bring social justice to all Malaysians. And if this is achieved it is enough for me in this world.”

The rakyat have not heard this kind of humble statement springing from any UMNO leader since 1981.

Malaysia Chronicle

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

. . . Becoming a leader is a huge responsibility . . .

Bullsh1t! All an MP needs to do is amend laws en masse with other MPs, and GTFO of Dewan after the 2nd term so that some other Malaysian will have a chance to do some policy work. All the MPs of today do are argue, never forward useful bills and keep apartheid in place by not challenging what is Illegal in the Human Rights Charter and Islam and virtually every faith on the planet. Responbsibility is making CHANGE by ratifying good policy and forwarding amendments to policy. Not keep the APARTHEID of BUMIPUTERA in place (BN), threaten to destroy private property (Gambier Threat – DAP), destroy livilihood of the streetside petty traders (DAP), ask for 750K funerals (DAP), ask for raises for MP and Assemblyman salaries (DAP), or try to impose Hudud on Malaysians (PAS), especially non-Muslim Malaysians, or pass off 8% quorum party elections as valid (PKR) or 0.002% (300 out of 1.5 million) for EXCO posts.

The above makes today’s hateful term limitless and extremely nepotistic MPs, loudmouths without responsibility. ALL an MP needs to do is change a few things by putting a signature down which any street sweeper can happily do. So far nothing useful from either side, lots of mega contracts for 1% cronies but nothing concrete for the 99%.

. . . He then aptly said, “Leadership is a huge trust and a big responsibility. Whoever becomes the prime minister is secondary. The good values of Islam should be upheld. A leader must be trustworthy, not corrupt, of high integrity and who could bring social justice to all Malaysians. And if this is achieved it is enough for me in this world.” . . .

APTLY? Malaysian Chronicle converted to Islam lately? ‘The good values of Islam should be upheld.’ is the vaguest most threatening thing being said as much as President Morsi of Egypt’s ‘Absolutist Decree’ just recently. There are OTHER good values – of other fiaths, of democracy of HUMAN RIGHTS that too many religions attack constantly. WHAT THE HELL is apt about a potential crypto-Islamist statement like that given the neglect of 40% of the population’s seculars or non-Hudu Malays up to 80-95% of Malaysia’s population altogether?

Hadi has NOT addressed the seculars since ‘accepting the PMship’ a week or so ago – Morsi Style! please stop emboldening with this sort of collusion or laziness. Apt? Hadi has forgotten the 40% of non-Muslims and non-Malays as well as possibly 70% of the non-pro-Hudud Malays and Muslims. Malaysia Chronicle sure this can be called ‘APT’? Frankly Malaysian MPs are overpaid, even when a 900 minimum wage cannot be implemented, what business have MPs have to take 23K per month of taxpayer monies? MPs salaries are paid by the Rakyat, did any Rakyat say they deserve 23K? On a 1-Man-1-Vote vote, probably MPs will have their salaries LOWERED to no more than 10 times minimum annual wage which would likely be RM$9000, even as minimum wage of $900 already gets ALL MP’s dragging their feet . . . the Pakatan MPs are term limitless and nepotistic, do not care for the Rakyat, even as BN MPs continue apartheid . . . vote 3rd Force!

Proposed 3rd Force Party

ARTICLE 11

RPK: Do You Think I Give A Crap? – by RAJA PETRA KAMARUDIN – Monday, 05 November 2012 16:25

“More I read your articles, more I have an inclination that you really are on a BN payroll.” – @bengali kunday.

That was what a reader going by the nickname of ‘@bengali kunday’ said. Well, allow me to reply to that.

First of all, even if I am on the payroll of Barisan Nasional, so what? There are people like those in Malaysiakini, Malaysia Chronicle, and so on, who are on Pakatan Rakyat’s payroll. In fact, sites like Harakah and many others actually belong to and are financed by Pakatan Rakyat or parties within Pakatan Rakyat. And they do not hide that fact or are apologetic or ashamed about serving the interest of a political party, notwithstanding the fact that it is an opposition party.

Are you implying that it is okay to be on Pakatan Rakyat’s payroll but not okay to be on Barisan Nasional’s payroll? Are you also implying that democracy and freedom of choice and freedom of association means you must be on Pakatan Rakyat’s payroll but not on Barisan Nasional’s payroll?

What type of democracy is this when you are restricted to serving one party’s interest but not the other? What type of democracy is this when you have no freedom of choice or freedom of association and are obligated to serve one party’s interest but not the other?

You take the moral high ground whenever you feel that someone is serving Barisan Nasional’s interest but you do not demonstrate that same moral outrage if someone is on Pakatan Rakyat’s payroll. So-called ‘independent’ human rights organisations such as Suaram openly work for Pakatan Rakyat but that is not repulsive to you. Only if they serve Barisan Nasional’s interest is it repulsive.

Secondly, when I write articles very damaging to Barisan Nasional and Umno – such as my two recent articles this week in The Corridors of Power regarding Umno Sabah – you do not consider that as being on Pakatan Rakyat’s payroll. However, if I write just one article that is slightly uncomplimentary to Pakatan Rakyat (in fact, the article that I wrote in which you posted that comment is not even about Pakatan Rakyat or uncomplimentary to Pakatan Rakyat) you consider that as being on Barisan Nasional’s payroll.

To you Pakatan Rakyat supporters, the decent thing to do is to serve Pakatan Rakyat’s interest. Serving any other interest is an indecent thing to do. You decide the moral boundaries and limits of decency and anyone who does not pass your interpretation and yardstick of morality and decency is vilified. Who appointed you the guardian and trustee of morality and decency?

How different are you from the religionists who decide what is moral and what is decent and impose their standards of morality and decency on others? Since Muslims represent the majority population in Malaysia can Muslims then, going by the doctrine of democracy where majority rules, impose their Islamic interpretation of morality and decency on the minority?

Since the majority dictates the ground rules then surely what is compatible to Islam should prevail and anything repulsive to Islam should be barred. In that case the Islamic Sharia law, Hudud included, should be the law of the land. Muslims who are the majority in Malaysia should decide what is moral and what is decent and Islam must be the code of conduct that all Malaysians should live by.

Religionists such as Muslims, even if they are the majority in Malaysia, should not impose their will on Malaysians, even on fellow Muslims, let alone on the non-Muslims. So why should you impose your will on others? The believers of Islam should not vilify those who are not of the Muslim faith. Why should the believers of Pakatan Rakyat vilify those who are not of the opposition faith?

When misguided Muslims adopt the ‘either you are with us or you are against us’ religious doctrine, you find that revolting, indecent and immoral. But you can adopt the ‘either you are with us or you are against us’ political doctrine and it is not revolting, indecent and immoral.

What kind of hypocritical double standard is this? You resent it when others impose their will on you and when they decide what is tolerable, moral and decent. But you can impose your will on others and decide what is tolerable, moral and decent. Can you see the hypocrisy that is so thick you can cut it with a knife?

Do you think I care a sh** about Barisan Nasional or Pakatan Rakyat? Do you think I care a sh** whether Barisan Nasional retains power or Pakatan Rakyat gains power? Do you think my life is only about the general elections and about who gets to march into Putrajaya? That is a very narrow way to look at life.

Do you honestly think that my mission in life is to make sure that Barisan Nasional does not get kicked out? Do you honestly think that my mission in life is to ensure that Pakatan Rakyat gets to form the next federal government? You have a very narrow mission in life. Do not imagine that my mission in life is as narrow as yours.

Politicians are politicians, never mind from which side of the political divide. And the narrow objective of all politicians is merely to get into power. What makes you think that that is also my very narrow objective? If you think that then you have not been reading properly what I have been writing over these last 35 years.

You Pakatan Rakyat supporters are still too immature. And that is why Pakatan Rakyat is not ready to run the country. Pakatan Rakyat supporters first need to gain some maturity before Pakatan Rakyat can be allowed to form the federal government. You need to suffer another term under Barisan Nasional. This suffering might then wake you up and only when you wake up can we talk about a change of government.

Yes, do keep whacking me. Continue to vilify me. And when you do I will do everything within my power to make sure that the coming general election is going to result in a huge shock and disappointment for you.

Never give a flower to a monkey, the Malays would say. That is like throwing pearls to swine, the English say. And that is how I look at some of you Pakatan Rakyat supporters, monkeys and swine that are not ready to be entrusted with power.

So you want to fight. So let’s fight. I have nothing to lose because I don’t care a sh** which side is going to win the coming general election. That is what you want. That is not what I want. Just because that is what you want you have this mistaken notion that that is what I also want.

What stupid people you are. If I support Pakatan Rakyat then I am God. If I do not support Pakatan Rakyat then I am a Barisan Nasional stooge. Well, let me break it to you gently. I am neither God not a Barisan Nasional stooge. I am an independent-spirited individual who does not care a sh** about losers like you.

It is true that there are things that we Malaysians should be proud of, and be thankful for. It is equally true that many things are not well in our country. They have not been well for some time now.

Matters of safety and security, price hikes, education, issues of equal opportunities and equal treatment, constriction of various forms of freedom, marginalization of several segments of society, the failing justice system, corruption in the public sector, the rising denial syndromes, the arrogance of wrongdoers nourished by their repeated ability to get off scot-free, and the numbness of the public reaction towards misdeeds and the lack of accountability, just to describe a few.

Many of the ills that we complain about in our society are the symptoms of the underlying causes. Some of the major root causes are:

(a) epidemic corruption in a system that does little to prohibit or redress it,

(b) lack of a system of transparency and accountability,

(c) the suppression of various freedoms so as to turn a silent majority into a silenced majority,

(d) a Government that is more interested in commanding than serving,

(e) a Parliament whose overwhelming majority cares more about power-consolidation than nation-building, and

(f) a weak “last bastion” in the form of a failing justice system.

Breaking point

Can things be allowed to go on this way? Can we afford to do so?

Should our future generations suffer the consequences of our permissiveness?

It is quite obvious that we need a better Government and a better Parliament.

But that will not happen if we, the citizens of Malaysia , do little more than blaming the Government and criticizing our Members of Parliament. It is we who put our MPs in the Parliament. It is we who must take the ultimate responsibility.The buck stops at each and every one of us.

My earnest appeal to everyone is therefore as follows:

– discuss the need for a better Parliament and a better Government, with your family members, colleagues, friends and persons close to you;

– make it a point to go and vote in the next election, and to vote for change and for betterment; discard the notion or excuse that your single vote will not matter;

– discard the notion or excuse that politics is dirty and all politicians are the same, and therefore that there is no point in voting;

– influence and encourage as many of your family members, colleagues, friends and persons close to you as possible, to come out and vote for change and for betterment in the coming election.

Meaningless to gripe if you don’t VOTE

It is meaningless for us to complain about our Parliamentarians and the Government, if we do not first discharge a simple but sacrosanct duty of choice.

Let us all take the time to look into the beautiful but expectant eyes of our children, and of the children of many others for whom we care.

The future of our nation is meant for them. But millions of them cannot vote. They put their fate in our hands. They rely on us not just for their present living and support. They rely on us, too, to vote for a better future for them.

And after discharging our duty to vote, we must continue to be vigilant, and ensure that our elected representatives account for their actions, and make good their promises.

I humbly suggest to you that change and betterment are not empty dreams, if all of us play our respective parts. I invite you, and I urge you, to answer my appeal as set out above.

Thank you.

Yours sincerely,

Yeo Yang Poh

(former Bar Council President)

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

So says the ‘great legal mind’ who propped up Mahathir’s racist corrupt government and sat silently while in power as Bar President while APARTHEID of BUMIPUTRA and OPs Lallang went on. This legal beagle (no eagle even though was Bar Council President) Yeo Yang Poh entirely failed his watch, did not challenge Malaysia’s failed state throughout the 1970s to 1990s.

The legal fraternity worldwide should blackball this failure Yeo and also the Bar Council of today as well for not challenging apartheid. And now Yeo thinks that writing an ‘open letter’ will exhonerate such neglect and tacit approval of such Malaysian racism, corruption, illegal actions and general malaise? Liar and traitor to all Malaysian, traitor to minorities, traitor to ETHICS and the integrity of the legal system! Shame on Yeo Yang Poh for never raising the possibility of ending the APARTHEID OF BUMIPUTRA!

Malaysia Chronicle must be getting chronic to allow such people to post articles on their media article. Cynical media portal featuring cynical letters from supposed learned writers who sellout the 99% of citizens!

ARTICLE 13

DON’T BE SO ‘ULU’ UMNO: Stop the May 13 threats, have the GUTS to compete on level ground! – by Lim Kit Siang – Friday, 30 November 2012 15:44

The irresponsible threats raised by UMNO leaders at the 66th UMNO General Assembly of “May 13” and chaos if UMNO loses the 13th General Election, falsely claiming that Malays will lose political power and will be rendered “destitute in our own land”, is the best proof of the failure and hypocrisy of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 1Malaysia policy.

If the 1Malaysia Policy proclaimed by Najib after he became Prime Minister in in April 2009 is more than election gimmicks for votes in the 13GE, its philosophy “to create a Malaysian nation where every Malaysian will regard himself or herself as Malaysian first and race, religion, geographical region or socio-economic status second” should have been the guiding spirit of speeches of UMNO/BN leaders and their party conferences.

But this is clearly not the case despite the onset of the 43rd month of Najib’s premiership, as illustrated by the 66th Umno General Assembly.

In the first place, an Umno/BN leader fully imbued by the 1Malaysia spirit of “Malaysian first and race, religion, geography or socio-economic status second” would never entertain any notion let alone utter any threat of May 13 or chaos regardless of the outcome of the forthcoming 13th general election, as anyone who could toy with any May 13 threat or warning of chaos because of the free democratic choice of Malaysians in the 13th general election has not only failed to imbibe the spirit of 1Malaysia, but is acting in a most disloyal and unpatriotic manner utterly heedless of the higher interests of the nation and the best future for the country.

Felled by own falsehoods

Such disloyal and unpatriotic notions is all the more reprehensible as they are built on despicable lies and falsehoods, that the defeat of UMNO in the 13th GE will result in the loss of political power of the Malays resulting in the Malays, to quote one speech: “..if we go down in this struggle, we do not have anything left. Pakatan will be brought down to their knees, and eventually become destitute in our own land”.

That fate may befall UMNO leaders – and that is if UMNO is incapable of reform even after being ousted from Putrajaya – but definitely it will not be the fate of the Malays.

This is because replacing UMNO/BN in Putrajaya will be the Pakatan Rakyat coalition comprising PKR, PAS and DAP – comprising Malaysians from all races, religions and regions representing the best interests of all.

Do MCA and the other BN component parties agree that if UMNO/BN loses in the 13GE, the Malays will lose political power?

MCA leaders are in fact saying the very opposite – telling the Chinese that if Pakatan Rakyat defeat UMNO/BN in the next general elections, the Chinese will lose even more political, economic, educational, socio-economic and citizenship rights!

Only the corrupt will lose power

Let UMNO and MCA leaders decide on one common message – whether it is the Malays or Chinese who will lose political power if UMNO/BN is replaced by Pakatan Rakyat in the 13GE.

The true answer is that it is not the Malays, Chinese, Indians, Kadazans or Ibans who will lose political power but the UMNO-putras and their hangers-on in the other BN component parties – with ordinary Malaysians regardless of race, religion or region coming into their own to have rightful share in the decision-making process in a more democratic Malaysia.

It is time that UMNO and MCA leaders stop their irresponsible politics of “divide and rule” and compete with Pakatan Rakyat parties instead on “unite and rule” for a more democratic, just, prosperous and competitive Malaysia.

Lim Kit Siang is the DAP adviser & MP for Ipoh Timur

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Shaddap and GTFO of Dewan nepotistic term limitless creep!

DON’T BE SO ‘ULU’ DAP: Stop the APARTHEID OF BUMIPUTRA, have the GUTS to DEMAND level ground (below 3 items)!

Such disloyal and unpatriotic notions is all the more reprehensible as they are built on despicable lies and falsehoods, that the defeat of DAP in the 13th GE will result in the loss of political power of the Lim Family Bloc, Anwar Family Bloc and Karpal Family Blocs resulting in the family blocs, to quote one speech: “. . . if Pakatan goes down in this struggle, Pakatan does not have anything left. Pakatan will be(ing) brought down to their knees, and eventually become destitute in Pakatan’s own constituencies” to the empowerment of 3rd Force and the very rare handful of honest politicians within BN who subscribe top the above 3 items.

That fate may befall UMNO leaders – and that is if UMNO is incapable of reform even after being ousted from Putrajaya – but definitely it will not be the fate of the Malays.

This is because replacing UMNO/BN in Putrajaya will be the Pakatan Rakyat coalition comprising PKR, PAS and DAP – comprising Malaysians from all races, religions and regions representing the best interests of all.

Do MCA and the other BN component parties agree that if UMNO/BN loses in the 13GE, the Malays will lose political power?

MCA leaders are in fact saying the very opposite – telling the Chinese that if Pakatan Rakyat defeat UMNO/BN in the next general elections, the Chinese will lose even more political, economic, educational, socio-economic and citizenship rights!

Only the nepotistic and term limitless will lose power.

The true answer is that it is not the Malays, Chinese, Indians, Kadazans or Ibans who will lose political power but the DAP-putras and their hangers-on in the other Pakatan component parties – with ordinary Malaysians regardless of race, religion or region coming into their own to have rightful share in the decision-making process in a more democratic Malaysia by removing term limitless Lim Kitsiangs and Karpals and their families from family blocs in Parliament.

It is time that DAP and PKR leaders stop their irresponsible politics of “falsely-unify and rule-by-kicking out members and being dictators PAP style” and compete to match 3rd Force instead on “TERM LIMITS and END OF NEPOTISM” for a more democratic, just, prosperous and competitive Malaysia.

TWO important decisions at the recently concluded 21st Asean Summit in Phnom Penh were: the launch of the Asean Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and delaying the launch of the Asean Economic Community (AEC) by 12 months, from Jan 1 to Dec 31, 2015, to iron out pending issues and prepare the necessary regulations.

RCEP is forged as an alliance between Asean and its six dialogue partners — Australia, China, India, South Korea, Japan and New Zealand — to create a free trade area with great potential for gains through economic cooperation.

To date, numerous free trade agreements (FTAs) and economic partnership agreements (EPAs) have been concluded between single Asean member nations and by Asean as a group with individual dialogue partners. However, the overlapping priorities, procedures and practices have reduced the effectiveness and the potential benefits of these agreements since businesses have to observe the different rules of these various arrangements while it has also increased the cost of utilising preferential concessions.

It is in that context that the Asean RCEP agreement, with its region-wide partners, has the potential to reduce the complexity arising from the current multiplicity of agreements by agreeing on a single package and focusing on Asean’s centrality in the region.

Second, RCEP would be a basis for more complementary regional integration initiatives, since the partnership is to be built on the experiences, strengths and drawbacks of the many existing FTAs and EPAs.

It is also hoped that the Asean RCEP could spur efforts to set up an FTA between China, Japan and South Korea, a prospect faced with several impediments still to be resolved. Once established on a firm footing among the three northeast Asian nations, it can certainly enhance further regional economic integration.

All these positive aspirations and moves to achieve effective regional economic integration pivot on the countries concerned strengthening their commitment to, and being ready to work towards, that very goal, both among Asean members and their dialogue partners.

And, it is here, that the decision to delay by 12 months the launching of the AEC becomes critical. In that time frame, all Asean members must make progress to fulfil and implement the agreed road map and targeted actions for the AEC. That must surely be a prerequisite for realising the broader goal of regional economic integration.

One should also keep in mind that RCEP might be perceived as a competitor to the United States-led Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). At present, only Australia, Brunei, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and Vietnam are a part of the TPP, while several other Asean members and dialogue partners, notably China, are not — a fact that could cause conflict of interests and derail effective economic integration.

Such a situation, if not clearly demarcated so that both the TPP and RCEP mutually benefit its members, could easily complicate further the existing and planned business pacts in the region, and frustrate efforts to achieve effective regional economic integration.

Malaysia, as a founding Asean member, having successful economic ties with all major countries and given its presence in both the TPP and RCEP, can and should play a key role in helping to promote the success of the AEC and the wider goal of regional economic integration, especially in the current context of a globalised economic and trading regime.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

No. Malaysia may be a founding member of ASEAN, but has institutionalized apartheid in the social economic system and is nominally Islamo-extremist and Nazi style ethnic communalist to a certain level alongside extreme religious fundo-mindsets against LGBTs and other non-Muslim entertainments. These facts render Malaysia non-viable as an ASEAN signatory until corrected. So long as Malaysia has denied the minorities and non-Muslims :

Malaysia’s role in ASEAN will be limited and biased, value deducted and disunifying from sheer inequality of the APARTHEID of BUMIPUTRA applied against the superminority of 40% of the non-Muslim and non-Malay population.

This is supposed to be one of our ‘better’ less fundo ‘more liberal’ Malays. England has extended far too much courtesy and spotlight to this duplicituous sorry specimen of humanity while ignoring worthier Malaysian citizens.

ARTICLE 15

The women haters in Parliament – November 28, 2012

NOV 28 — So, we now have rules in Parliament to stop lawmakers from saying sexist things.

You can stop them saying sexist things but it doesn’t change their mentality. It doesn’t change the fact that both Umno and PAS have chauvinists in their ranks who demean women with their words and actions.

This is also the same man who said attractive women shouldn’t work as they can get husbands, unlike their “uglier” brethren.

If I were to tell one of our chauvinistic MPs to his face that he hated women, he would probably reply, “Of course, not! I love women!”

Of course you do.

You love having women in your kitchen.

You love having women in your bedroom.

You love women when they tell you you’re right. When they agree with you. When they’re meek, pliable and not nearly as good at anything you do.

And when some woman tells you off for something like sexism or chauvinism, you brush her off as some “man-hating feminist.”

There’s a big difference between chauvinism and chivalry, but to some Malaysian men, they seem to be one and the same.

You don’t have to be an MP to be sexist. Take former Umno Kota Kinabalu protem head, Roselan Johar Mohamed, who is famous not because he is current chair of the BIMP-Eeaga Malaysian Business Council but for saying “If you cannot fight rape, better lay down and enjoy it.”

He claims he got that from a proverb by Confucius. I counter with a real quote from Confucius: “To subdue one’s self and return to propriety, is virtue.” Or, in other words, the right thing to do is have enough self-control to conduct yourself properly.

By that measure, too many of our politicians are very un-virtuous indeed.

It’s not just the way our male politicians talk about women but the way female politicians are treated in this country.

Why the need for separate women’s wings? Why, for instance, can’t a woman contest for leadership positions against men in our political parties?

Why must there be separate wings and positions just for the women?

Why can’t, say, a woman be the division head for Umno Selangor? Heck, why can’t a woman be the mentri besar? Why aren’t any of the mentri besar women? Where in our constitution does it specify that a woman cannot be head of state?

The reality is that sexism and chauvinism are entrenched in our local as well as political cultures. Telling our MPs to be “good boys” in Parliament isn’t enough because all our men need to be taught to acknowledge women as equals.

Sexism, like racism, is something that will never really go away. But it doesn’t mean that we can’t do our level best to fight them.

You can start small by gently reprimanding someone like Bung by saying, “That’s a sexist thing to say.”

Mentally, feel free to imagine hitting him about the head with a rolled up newspaper. Even virtue has its limits.

(The writer would like to emphasise that she suggested to “imagine” and not actually perform acts of violence, no matter how tempting.)

* The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

i) You can stop them saying sexist things but it doesn’t change their mentality.

Hey you can’t stop people from thinking or saying what they want ‘Erna’. 1st Amendment Rights, Voltarian FREEDOM OF SPEECH (freedom of life)!

ii) It doesn’t change the fact that both Umno and PAS have chauvinists in their ranks who demean women with their words and actions.

Doesn’t change the fact that SOME women do prefer chauvinistic men enough to ignore any incidental ‘demeaning’ of women.

iii) Why the need for separate women’s wings? Why, for instance, can’t a woman contest for leadership positions against men in our political parties?

Erna are you a Muslim? UMNO and PAS are Muslim parties, seperate wings in fact are ‘Muslim Characteristics’, even though Malays are not Muslims to begin with. If Erna needs to be apostate, Erna should leave Islam, but do not try to change Islam’s gender segregation. In time Islam will become a petty cult with the relic of gender seperation, this does not mean that Islam should change.

iv) Heck, why can’t a woman be the mentri besar? Why aren’t any of the mentri besar women? Where in our constitution does it specify that a woman cannot be head of state?

Do some work to declare Malaysia a secular state don’t compl;ain here. In Islam, the Patriarchy is dominant, if Islam is the faith of the country, all Muslims should be aware that only men are MBs or CMs.Run for politics instead of carrying b@lls on the media portals. How about Erna run as the first apostate Malay woman MP candidate who will forward a bill for MBs to be women, or declaring Malaysia a secualar state Erna?

v) The reality is that sexism and chauvinism are entrenched in our local as well as political cultures.

AND some women like things this way too. And so long as there is demand, there will be supply.

vi) Telling our MPs to be “good boys” in Parliament isn’t enough because all our men need to be taught to acknowledge women as equals.

ALL OUR MEN? Sorry Erna, women are not the same as men, or vice versa, NOR are men ‘yours’, and cannot be equals in the manner hoped for. Some women recognize this, some can’t. Are you a lesbian or a man trapped in a woman’s body Erna? Erna should have a sex change needed, or if bigendered in preference, lobby for ‘shemale’ to be included on ICs, Passports and perhaps even specil notes on birth certificates stating sex change or bigenderism.

vii) Mentally, feel free to imagine hitting him about the head with a rolled up newspaper. Even virtue has its limits.

Somone’s into rough !@#. Nice! I’d say Erna is a closet lesbian, a man in a woman’s body (too many male hormones in food?), or (secretly?) wants to be dominated by a ‘Bung-like’ man.

viii) You love women when they tell you you’re right. When they agree with you. When they’re meek, pliable and not nearly as good at anything you do.

Some do some don’t. And as the song goes ‘ There’s someone for everyone . . .’ So stop picking on actually meek, pliable and ditzy women who are the raison d’etre of misogynistic men as much as meek, as much as pliable and ditzy women posing as such to seek the love of men they like even if these men are on the mental plane chauvinists! Some gaps in logic? Love and marriage is that nuanced, harems polygamous and polyandrous included . . . try the below link for some pretty normal looking polygamous families.

Under the correct circumstances, or without the right backers, the state would haul Erna up and decide Erna was insane and needed to be medicated the rest of Erna’s life. How absolutist can anyone get and without thinking through the above facts if not merely being a feminist demogogue intent on limiting the myriad forms of expression in marriage?

BERA – The government has tasked two cooperatives to get more Chinese traders to participate in the Retail Shop Transformation Project (Tukar) which has attracted less than 10 per cent of entrepreneurs from the community so far, Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said here.

The government had also provided an allocation of RM8 million to the cooperatives – Koperasi Jaya Diri Malaysia Bhd and Koperasi Peralihan Usahawan Bersatu Cina – to do the job, which involved disseminating information on the project in Chinese to the targeted traders, he said.

Ismail Sabri said Chinese traders were reluctant to participate in the project because they could not obtain clear explanation of the project.

“We hope the two cooperatives will help disseminate the relevant information on Tukar in Chinese dialects to the traders for them to better understand the project,” he told reporters after a dialogue with Chinese traders in Triang, here, yesterday.

Tukar is one of 13 Entry Point Projects under the Economic Transformation Programme to modernise 500 small retailers and co-operatives by the end of the year.

Ismail Sabri said it was not necessary for traders joining the Tukar project to sell only 1Malaysia products at their outlets as they could also sell other goods.

“The management of the business is upgraded under the Tukar project to be more systematic,” he said.

– Bernama

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Wednesday, 28 November 2012 20:00 posted by VQiong

Only opportunistic MCA cadre participated. No honourable Chinese will take up the offer.

ARTICLE 15

Muhyiddin: We are just and fair to all races – Wednesday, 28 November 2012 16:14

KUALA LUMPUR: UMNO’S track record of being a just and fair party to all races compares favourably with the dysfunctional state governments ruled by Pakatan Rakyat since the 2008 general election.

Umno deputy president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said Pakatan leaders, so used to stoking racial sentiments and religious extremism, had alienated each other in states under its rule.

He said a deep mistrust, racial and religious chasm and differing ideologies and political beliefs could seal Pakatan’s fate.

In a rousing speech at the joint opening of the Wanita, Youth and Puteri delegates’ conference last night ahead of the party’s annual general assembly, Muhyiddin said:

“In Penang, DAP refuses to share power with Pas which has only one representative in the state assembly. Until today, none of the Pas members has been appointed as state executive council members.

“DAP went to the extent of appointing a Parti Keadilan Rakyat representative to handle the state religious portfolio although it knew that Pas was more qualified.

“Similarly in Kedah, the sole DAP assemblyman was not appointed as an exco in the Pas-ruled state while in Selangor, a Pas exco member and a DAP exco member had once clashed over the enforcement of Islamic laws in the PKR-led state.”

Muhyiddin added Pakatan’s win in the last general election served, therefore, as “a blessing in disguise for Barisan Nasional because it exposed its inability to work with each other”.

He said power sharing among opposition leaders “had never existed” because of mistrust.

As for Umno, the deputy prime minister said the party continued to protect the interests of all races.

“Umno has never discriminated against any race in its struggles for the Malays and Islam in the last 66 years.”

In an indirect reference to PKR’s de facto leader, Muhyiddin hit out at “an opposition leader” whom he said had requested help from a foreign country to oversee the electoral process.

“He is telling lies to the whole world that our election process is not clean. This is treason and a dirty tactic by a desperado.”

He said Malaysia under the BN administration had never reneged on its power-sharing promises in governing the country.

He also called on party members to give their all in the final lap before the general election.

“As party frontliners, Wanita, Pemuda and Puteri are the workhorses (pasukan tahan lasak). Go to all corners of the country and the cities, traverse valleys and the rivers, uphold our struggles and, God willing, we will parade our victory torch (in the general election).”

– New Straits Times

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Muhyiddin: We are just and fair to all races.

NO, BN and UMNO are not just or fair to all races. Muhyiddin is not fair to all races. There is no justice or fairness without :

We view with serious concerns the Malaysian government’s invitation to Sri Lankan President Mahinder Rajapaksa to attend the 8th World Islamic Economic Forum from December 4 to 6 (despite the latest report that he may not be attending).

This invitation is certainly disgraceful and outrageous as President Mahinda Rajapaksa is a suspected war criminal for mass atrocities committed by the Sri Lankan army including the massacres of Tamil civilians and captured LTTE fighters, targeted shelling of civilians, rape, sexual assault, abuse and murder. In April 2011, a UN expert report concluded that as many as 40,000 people were killed in the final weeks of the war between the LTTE and government forces.

Although Malaysia is not a party to the Rome Statute that established the International Criminal Court (ICC), on 9 February, 2009 the government in its presentation at the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) at the UNHRC stated that “Malaysia has undertaken a detailed study and held consultations to study the legal implications arising from the provisions of the Rome Statute. Despite several concerns, Malaysia is fully committed to the principles and the establishment of the ICC and their integrity.”

We therefore urge the Malaysian government to rescind the invitation to President Mahinda Rajapaksa as this invitation would send damaging signals to victims of mass atrocity in Sri Lanka and globally, Sri Lankan refugees worldwide including in Malaysia, and undermine Malaysia’s credibility on issues of justice and the principles of the ICC.

Seatbelts not fastened, but do we really want to be fined? Get the 222 MPs to remove the fine! If any driver wants to die in an accident from not wearing seatbelts (which is not likely in slow paced jammed up roads in the cities), thats their right to do so.

But fining people only profiteers off the citizens! RM150 is EXCESSIVE especially from this sort of ‘victimless traffic offence’ thing. Was anyone hurt because the driver was not wearing a seatbelt? Was the driver driving quickly? Was the driver doing so many maneuvers with the car that needed a seatbelt to be worn? So the driver without seatbelt on might just be enjoying a sense of FREEDOM and not being bound into a seat to better enjoy a car ride while NOT being criminal minded. WHY does the traffic code need to be so invasive and consider this a crime? Who wrote the code? Also consider that a person who earns less than 1500 a month and barely saves 150 a month is effectively being bled to death by this sort of fine for a traffic offence.

I strongly suggest that 1% of salaries by applied for fining, and NO FINE by applied for those not currently working. This means that a 1000.00 earner pays 10.00 for a traffic offence, with 3% and 10% being levied for more serious or dangerous offences. Just wait till I get my MP’s seat, prepare for MASSIVE overhauls of the system, so are we ready to vote and run for election alongside moi on this issue at least?

Percentage of salary based fines and bails (which seem to all say one thing – the rich are immune to justice and do not feel the pain of fines . . . ) BTW, the officer was ‘kind’ enough to offer to ‘ignore’ the 150 fine for a 50 ‘duit kopi’, but even though moi could have put the money to better use, some of us would rather pay the full 150 than encourage bribery and corruption in the police force. BUT BECAUSE some of us also do not believe in destroying a civil servants life with a brownnoser style report, I’ll leave the reporting of the bribery issue alone (no bribe paid anyway) and take on the state instead by running for candidacy (by proxy perhaps) simply to lower those damn fines or even amend the criminal codes as well. Whats the point of this sort of shameless profiteering?

Oh and the wheel clamp fine by police is excessive also, 50.00? What a waste of time and productivity, citizens may have slower traffic but saving money and time making trips to the payment counter makes for a happier citizen likelier to vote for the existing government. Plastic bags 0.20 cents? 0.05 cents more likely! To inform, out of sheer spirit some citizens hit with fines may not want to riot or turn cop-killers, but they sure as hell will try to screw the system if the system screws them. Whos’s with the 99% in screwing back the system by making fines salary based through forcing MPs to assent to the above by voting someone else? Lets amend the criminal code by kicking out the BN and Pakatan MPs! End the APARTHEID of BUMIPUTRA! BN and Pakatan look set to not grant :

;so why should we vote them and their 23K salaries? 99% are we ready to vote 3rd Force? Lets LOWER all MP salaries and traffic fines, ditch the Hudud elements in the criinal code ESPECIALLY for non-Muslims and by Human Rights ALLOW Muslims who really want to have Article 18 of the Human Rights Charter their right to exercise what the rest of HUMANITY can!

SUPPORTING INSTITUTIONS: Countries like Malaysia are wrestling with graft on the national level, but have a better chance of reducing it substantially sooner

A bumper sticker on a taxi in Kuala Lumpur sends an anti-corruption message. The prime minister’s initiatives are a brave new approach to transparent and accountable governance.

Tunku Abdul Aziz on Oct 2,

I was invited to participate in a televised debate on corruption, organised by Channel News Asia as part of its Bridging Asia: The Singapore Debates. The motion before the house was “Can Asia Beat Corruption?”

Professor Mark Thompson, director, Southeast Asian Research Centre at the City University, Hong Kong, teamed up with prominent Singapore anti-corruption lawyer Wilson Ang to try and convince a critical studio audience that Asia could lick corruption, citing cases of countries once at the bottom of the Transparency International Perceptions Index and today showing signs of improvement.

They drew comfort from, and put great store by, the fact that nearly all Asian countries had introduced anti-corruption laws. But they forgot to mention that a million anti-corruption laws would amount to nothing without strong, effective enforcement.

In those countries, and to some extent in Malaysia, enforcement continued to be derisory. Laws are of course required for defining public service behaviour: they are essential for creating institutions, but of themselves, “as a deterrent to unethical public behaviour”, are largely ineffective.

Ann Florini, professor of Public Policy, School of Social Sciences, Singapore Management University and I were not persuaded that Asia could confront corruption decisively because, unlike Singapore or Hong Kong, there was no evidence of strong political will emerging any time soon in much of Asia.

Good governance was totally absent in seriously corrupt societies where best practices were more observed in the breach than the observance. In such countries, corruption would continue to run its course with little or no prospect of even reducing it marginally.

I said that in the case of Singapore, which was once a very corrupt colonial backwater, if at the time of independence the city state was run by a bunch of crooks instead of Lee Kuan Yew, the course of its history might have been quite different.

Countries in Asia that managed their affairs well and supported their institutions, the likes of Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Malaysia, while still wrestling with corruption at the national level, apparently had a better chance of reducing corruption substantially over a shorter time frame.

Ann Florini and I won the debate against worthy opponents. The verdict was that as long as Asia continued to pay lip service to fighting corruption in their societies, it would invariably be regarded as a profitable, low-risk enterprise. Corruption would be in robust good health.

Electronic voting was employed by those in the studio as well as those watching at home. I must say they do these things extremely well in Singapore, as indeed we have come to expect. I believe it is the institutions in which they worked that made the difference. Strong institutions produce highly motivated and competent people.

I remain unabashed and unrepentant in my complete support of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s national transformation programmes as I see in his initiatives a brave new approach to transparent and accountable governance for Malaysia, and not a day too soon.

Over the years, we have, largely by default, allowed unprincipled governance to take on a life of its own, with predictable consequences. These comprehensive transformation programmes, covering a whole range of critical social, economic, legislative and governance issues, once implemented, will help ensure for Malaysia a place of honour at the top table, among the “clean” nations of the world. I am confident that as a result of these measures, we would be better armed and equipped to tackle the scourge of corruption head on.

I am happy that the Najib administration has shown great moral strength to resist the temptation of turning the national transformation programmes into a political slogan: they are far too important for the long-term future of our nation to be trivialised and used as a political play thing.

They are not about scoring a political point. They are about getting the country out of its slumber, out of the rut and bouncing back with clear and transparent policies that will grow the economy, unite our people and ensure peace and harmony for all Malaysians.

The government should not be distracted by the mountains of lies and innuendoes spun without a break by the opposition “axis of evil”, with apologies to the junior Bush. Najib must do whatever it takes legally to win big and win well to save the country from the clutches of unprincipled political adventurers, who, lacking experience, would be too risky a gamble to be allowed to govern this country.

Let me remind the Anwars and Guan Engs of this world that it is easier to destroy than to build. On that note, I wish my Muslim readers a blessed Aidiladha.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Well at least there is a critical view (3rd force inclined hopefully?) on the so-called Opposition in Malaysia. But for this part . . . I said that in the case of Singapore, which was once a very corrupt colonial backwater, if at the time of independence the city state was run by a bunch of crooks instead of Lee Kuan Yew, the course of its history might have been quite different . . . is quite nonsensical and propaganda inclined. Lee Kuan Yew has written MANY crook like laws into the Singaporean system.

Extreme salaries worldwide second only to corruption ridden Kenya says alot about Singapore. There is no justification of such extreme salaries, that and many other things often covered up that make Singapore a very corrupt NEO-COLONIAL ‘military base’, that has ** INSTITUTIONALIZED CORRUPTION written into law**.

I think Tunku should hand over his (non-existent) degree in politics to moi (also non-existent degree), simply for not being honestly academic as an academic should be, in a preferably academic article, or simply because Tunku can’t think straight being so afflicted or colluding on the Lee Junta ethos. Honesty please dear Tunku! Friendship does not mean 99.999% of the citizens should suffer so 2 people feel good about themselves! Not at our expense!

Strategic location makes Singapore a military base that foreign powers pretend to pour money into for a sense of normalcy. Apart from unique culture and unique goods local to the region, there is no reason to travel or even trade at all. Port of call issues are no longer viable either due to long range ships etc.. This is one occasion where otherwise useful associations and the myopia of life long friendships end up hampering the truth of the matter. See below link for some unpleasant Singaporean reality that a Beloved Leader junta of a nepotistic and term limitless political careerist family or a privileged member of Royalty can never relate to.

OCT 27 — Is Singapore really experiencing its golden age, or are we missing a part of the plot?

In a recent commentary, Straits Times Editor Sumiko Tan described what she called ‘Singapore’s Golden Age’, with references to Singapore’s impressive skyline, boasting an array of new developments like Marina Bay Sands, Gardens by the Bay and the Singapore Flyer, just to name a few.

Citing statistics and surveys, Tan implied that the city-state must be doing something right and is attracting many foreigners to come and work here.

She further stated: “Property is a national preoccupation, but it’s not whether you can afford a roof over your head that Singaporeans fret about. It’s whether or not to get a second property to invest in.”

Sorry Sumiko, but I beg to differ as there are undoubtedly a growing number of Singaporeans who are struggling to buy a decent home for themselves or for their families, let alone purchase a second property.

There was even a recent article which first appeared in The New Paper highlighting how cash-over-valuations (COVs) for resale HDB flats are high, making it more difficult for buyers to acquire units. The report quoted B. Wong, an operations manager, who said that he and his wife would not have been able to pay the S$60,000 (RM150,000) COV for their 11th-storey four-room flat in Punggol had they not sold their previous unit.

Moreover, property prices rose to record levels last quarter amid low interest rates, prompting the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to implement new home loan regulations to prevent a property price bubble.

Private home prices rose 0.5 per cent to a new high in Q3 this year. As for the public housing market, Singapore recently saw its first S$1 million HDB resale flat transaction.

So it is unlikely that the majority of Singaporeans are indeed preoccupied with acquiring more investment properties, especially with the many netizens regularly grumbling about sky-high housing prices.

I don’t argue with the fact that Singapore has seen astounding progress over the last few decades, but it might be time to also accept that not all that glitters is gold. — TR Emeritus

* Romesh Navaratnarajah is the Senior Editor at PropertyGuru.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.

ABOUT 300 people staged a peaceful protest in front of the Sri Subramaniar Swamy Temple here today against the proposed construction of two blocks of 29-storey condominiums close to the Batu Caves limestone outcrop near here.

They gathered at about 10 am, carrying placards with slogans, one of which called read: “Stop the construction and save the Batu Caves natural heritage and the world-renowned religious shrine”.

Sri Maha Mariamman Temple Dhevasthanam chairman Datuk R. Nadarajah said the development of the two blocks of 29-storey condominiums would also lead to the destruction of the world’s tallest Lord Murugan statue situated less than 300 metres from the proposed development.

“The construction would endanger the lives of the devotees and tourists from around the world due to the (possibility of) falling objects as a result of the massive development in the vicinity of the temple,” he told a news conference, here.

“The project must be stopped permanently, not temporarily, and we urge the (Selangor) government to consider our plight,” he said.

Former MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu said the high-rise construction should be stopped because it could have great adverse impact on the eco-system of the limestone hills there.

“We are not asking for money or land, we are asking to stop the construction permanently because it will also affect many species of animals and plants,” said Samy Vellu, who is Malaysia’s Special Envoy for Infrastructure to India and South Asia.

Malaysian Nature Society secretary Lim Teck Wyn claimed that it was unsafe to locate the proposed development close to Batu Caves.

He recalled an incident of Oct 19, 1973, when a massive piece of rock sheared off the cliff face of Gunung Cheroh in Ipoh and landed on the village of Kampung Kacang Putih, killing 42 people.

Following that tragedy, the Minerals and Geoscience Department (MGD) came up with guidelines for development next to limestone hills.

The Batu Caves cliff face next to the proposed blocks of condominiums has discontinuities and overhangs, which means that the MGD criteria for a very high hazard rating is met.

“The zone surrounding the base of the hill is thus considered to be a very dangerous zone where there should be no houses or permanent buildings,” said Lim. – Bernama

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Hi density areas weaken spiritual energy due to lots of living beings taking the areas Qi or Prana. Also tall buildings block line of sight as well as cause further blockage spiritual energy of having people in the way.

“Maybe he did not do his homework. I am disappointed with what he said,” the MCA president was reported as saying today by English-language paper The Sunday Star.

Dr Chua was referring to Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom, who had earlier this week said hudud could only apply to Muslims as they come under the jurisdiction of the Syariah courts.

Dr Chua said he was disappointed with Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom’s statement. — File pic
“Therefore, hudud law will not impact non-Muslims,” Jamil Khir, the minister for Islamic affairs, told Parliament in a written reply.

He had based his reply on the Federal Constitution, where Islamic law falls under the jurisdiction of each state and is only applicable to Muslims.

“Therefore, if hudud is to be implemented in Malaysia, then the Syariah Court would only have jurisdiction over those who practise Islam in accordance with the Federal Constitution,” Jamil Khir had said.

Malaysia’s dual-track court system has resulted in an blurring of lines in an increasing number of legal disputes between Muslims and non-Muslims over their constitutional rights.

Dr Chua had last week said many Chinese voters are “also aware that the DAP has been lying when it said that hudud will not affect the non-Muslims”.

MCA has been using the hudud issue to warn non-Muslims, especially the Chinese community, away from voting for Pakatan Rakyat (PR) in the coming polls, insisting that the pact’s “dominant” partner PAS would insist on its implementation despite its ties with secular DAP and PKR.

Hudud has remained a sensitive touch point in Southeast Asia’s third-largest economy, which has a 60 per cent Muslim population, with political parties continuing to spar over the subject in the run-up to the 13th general election.

The idea of an Islamic criminal code has been used to either scare the minority Chinese voters, or shore up support among the majority Malay-Muslim community.

The Malay community is seen today as split three-ways among the ruling BN’s mainstay and the country’s biggest Malay party, Umno, the opposition’s Islamist PAS, and PKR, which is seen as an urban liberal party.

MCA had also previously warned that Muslim MPs would unite to amend the Federal Constitution in favour of hudud and the Islamic state if PR takes over, but DAP’s Lim Kit Siang had dismissed it as a “lie” to stop the Chinese community from voting for the opposition.

Lim had said that there were only 130 Muslim MPs in the country, while 148 MPs are needed to make up the two-thirds majority for a constitutional amendment.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

PAS would not be the dominant member IF all more than 2 term candidates are dropped, and all more than 2 term candidates vacate their posts and all phenotypically similar sycophants would-be and ‘Phenotypical Nepotists’ as well. Thats about 50% of the Pakatan Coalition required to drop out of the race.

To ensure seperation of powers and distribution of power, to prevent vested interest, an MP must not also be on the committee, or Supreme Council (that should be ex-MPs instead), on top of disallowing family blocs in the MP posts or within the committee or Supreme council. That way cults of personality Gaddafi or Mubarak or Ali Salleh style do not form, that end up biasing the political parties intentions, and affecting the nation’s policies. Consider that after various junior posts in the committee, a member would have spent possibly 5-10 years.

Then a 2 term MP or Assemblyman stint possibly 8 years, then finally a Supreme Council post for 2 terms another 8 years. Thats also a grand total of 26 years which is more than enough for any person. So think when a MP post could have seen 8 MPs over the same period of time, how inappropriate that only 1 member among a political party of MILLIONS got to be MP. How is that fair? This is how dictatorship is like in many 3rd world countries, and if the trend is uncontrolled, we end up with an Egypt, a Libya and a Tunisia in the end where revolution is needed to overthrow power mad people in power too long.

The current or would be politician’s intent to the people can be seen in how long they have been in power (long in power but unable to think cleverly enough to destroy racism or fundamentalism or encourage corruption seems to typify most Malaysian politicians btw), or how they consider the above facts and best practices for political parties, so voters take a closer look at the party of your choice and if all intents of candidates or incumbents are bad, run for candidacy yourselves instead! It’s your country too, and that MP’s seat is for EVERYONE, not just those who refuse to amend laws and demand special funeral funds at tax payer cost and enable Astro type monopolies, no-insurance opt outs, extreme fines for minor offences and corrupt and opaque procurement contracts!

Vote 3rd Force and drop all term limitless nepotists and crony capitalist/fundo colluders like DAP or racists like BN!

KUALA LUMPUR, — Manifestos are part and parcel of any general election. They also play a vital role in determining the success or defeat of an electoral candidate or a political party.

The word ‘manifesto’ is being bandied about increasingly in the media and in conversations among the people in the run-up to the 13th General Election, particularly with regard to promises made by political parties prior to the last general election and as to whether they have been delivered or not.

So, what is a manifesto, actually? The Oxford Dictionary defines it as “a public declaration of policy and aims, especially one issued before an election by a political party or candidate”.

Che Hamdan Che Mohd Razali, political science lecturer at Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) in Dungun, Terengganu, is of the opinion that a good manifesto is one that can inspire the desire among voters to choose a political party or candidate to represent them.

“Of course, the candidate plays an important role but the voters also want to know what is the manifesto or declaration being offered by the party,” he told Bernama.

And to what extent do all voters remember the declarations or promises made prior to a general election?

In a 2009 study of a group of people aged between 21 and 40, it was found that most respondents had forgotten what was offered to them during the 2008 general election campaign, said Che Hamdan.

“At that time (the general election campaign), voters were excited by what was offered in the manifestos of political parties. But after some time, they forgot the points and only recalled them after certain related issues were raised nearer the general election date,” he said.

Deciding factor

Speaking of the next general election, Che Hamdan, who is also a political analyst, said that apart from the contesting candidates, the offer of an attractive manifesto would be among the deciding factors to determine the success or defeat of a party.

“Informing people of what has been implemented is actually very effective. They’ll then know what has and has not been done.

“I feel that the Barisan Nasional (BN) should increase the dissemination of information on what it has implemented,” he said referring to the “Jelajah Janji Ditepati” (‘Promises Fulfilled’ Tour) which provided a platform for people to obtain the latest update on the government’s efforts to help them.

Lecturer Prof Dr Ahmad Atory Hussein of the Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) Social Science Studies Centre, said a manifesto means a declaration or promise which must be presented at any general election.

“Based on political science, there are several elements in a general election, such as campaigns and manifestos. And a manifesto is the main element in any general election,” he said.

The manifesto has a very strong influence in determining the continuity of a party or individual, he added.

A manifesto which fulfills the needs of the people in a particular locality would generally influence the voting pattern,’ he said.

“For example, at the 2008 general election, the opposition had a manifesto which attracted the attention of the people and this allowed them to win in several states,” he said.

However, many of their promises remain unfulfilled, to the point that people were willing to take them to court, he said.

The Parti Keadilan Rakyat-led Selangor government was now facing several legal suits brought by consumers over the water subsidy which was promised in the party’s 12th general election manifesto, he said.

Ahmad Atory said voters would also evaluate the ability of a representative to deliver on promises, through the manifesto.

— BERNAMA

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

So, what is a manifesto, actually? The Oxford Dictionary defines it as “a public declaration of policy and aims, especially one issued before an election by a political party or candidate”. 90% failed manifesto by DAP renders DAP unvotable, being voted in on a failed manifesto of unkept words, cheating the voters. Vote 3rd Force!

PETALING JAYA: DAP chairman Karpal Singh has hit back at his fellow leaders who thought his “one candidate, one seat” proposal should be an internal party matter.

On the contrary, he said DAP could not risk the rakyat having leaders playing multiple roles as assemblyman, MP and executive councillors.

“We must put the interest of the country and the party before self,” Karpal said.

In the 1970s, Karpal said DAP leaders had to contest multiple seats because it did not have enough candidates of calibre.

“In the 1990s, party strongmen had to contest tough seats and give up safe seats for new or weaker candidates as our strategy was to win as many seats as possible to wrest control of Penang,” he pointed out.

“Now, we must accommodate quite a number of professionals who have joined Pakatan Rakyat,” he said, adding that DAP should also be sensitive to the people’s views on the multiple seats issue.

Karpal was responding to talk that some leaders were against the “one candidate, one seat” policy as they would lose the multiple incomes that could exceed RM40,000 a month.

In Selangor, an assemblyman’s pay is about RM11,700, inclusive of allowances, while that of an executive councillor is about RM25,000 (inclusive of state assembly pay). An MP earns about RM15,000 a month.

National organising secretary Teresa Kok, who is an MP, assemblyman and an executive councillor in Selangor, had described Karpal’s call as an “old story”.

Kok said that the party’s central executive committee had already discussed the issue and that the final decision depended on each and every constituency and state.

Selangor Speaker Datuk Teng Chang Khim had said that it was not wise to air the matter via the media as “it would create unnecessary dispute and problem”.

On Friday, Karpal had urged DAP leaders holding both parliamentary and state seats to publicly express their willingness to give up one.

Besides exceptional figures in Penang and Sarawak, all others should be willing to vie for only a single constituency, he said.

“We secured great victory in the last general election because of political tsunami but we do not expect such tsunami in the coming polls. It’s going to be tough as the public will assess the candidates based on their abilities,” he said, adding that the party should change its strategy accordingly.

Karpal also stressed that his intention was sincere, adding that there was no “sinister motive” and that even party grassroots supported the “single seat” policy.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Few people even decades into any industry earn as much. These salaries are more than 10 times average annual wage and excessive by normal standards. Then consider the term limitless and nepotism issue. Does the Rayat want to support these people for unlimited terms? 2 terms at most then vote for someone else but not that person’s relatives! Term limitless and nepotistic political careerists begats Minister Mentors and Senior Ministers, that turn into Gaddafis, Mubaraks and Ali Sallehs.

At 23K a month (or 4 million in Singapore’s case), MPs won’t need to work anymore after 2 terms or even 1 term if thrifty, so please voters, do give another one of your fellow constituents a chance to enjoy a salary windfall and allow seperation of powers as well – if the salaries are lowered to national annual wage levels, then fully expect only the wealthier and not greedy political careerists to join up in politics. In either case TERM LIMITS ensures distribution of political power to ALL constituents, not just Supremo and nepotistic family members or cliques which is what DAP has sunk to now – another PAP, and likely indulging in NEUROTECH techno-fascism that can be used to ensure people have no inclination to challenge bad laws that they do not want to change or even bad laws being introduced all the time)

Parti Rakyat Sarawak has declared itself the “true custodian” of Dayaks in Sarawak, putting a spoke perhaps in Taib’s divide and rule strategy.

Parliamentary election’s is not Taib’s top priority, but state is. Rumours are rife that he’s had a finger in the chaos within SUPP, SPDP and PRS. A divided state coalition allows him to have better control of his ‘partners’ and an increasingly empowered native community courtesy of the opposition.

Free Malaysia Today

SIBU: Was Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) president James Masing sending out a message to Chief Minister Taib Mahmud with his speech during the party’s eight anniversary dinner here last Saturday?

Masing’s emphasis on PRS being a “truly Dayak party” and that its elected representatives were “all Dayaks” wasn’t just a frivolous statement. It was tactical.

It comes at a time of the rapid ‘Dayak awakening’ amongst the rural native communities courtesy of the alternative media, Radio Free Sarawak and a brazen opposition.

Fueling this ‘awakening’ is the floundering Barisan Nasional partners – Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP) and Sarawak United Peoples party (SUPP) – who can’t seem to get their act together.

The only ‘water-tight’ party appears to be PRS and Taib’s PBB which incidentally is facing simmering discontent within its Bumiputera wing led by the allegedly much spineless Alfred Jabu Numpang.

The next parliamentary election which must be held by April 2013 will be a challenging one for Sarawak BN’s component parties.

Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak is desperately in need of Sarawak’s 31 seats in view of the fluid political situation in Sabah and in the peninsular.

In the last parliamentary elections in 2008, it was Sabah and Sarawak’s collective 56 seats that helped BN retain Putrajaya. Sabah and Sarawak each lost one seat to the opposition, delivering 54 seats to the federal coalition.

But the current scenario is somewhat different. The latest spin from the ground in Sabah is that the Musa Aman-led BN could lose up to 10 if not 12 of the 25 contestable parliamentary seats.

As it stands, speculations are rife that BN could lose up to seven seats from amongst SUPP, SPDP and PRS.

Taib, on his part, has guaranteed Najib a return on all 14 of PBB’s parliamentary seats and there’s no reason for the PM to doubt his ability especially after his performance in the last state election. Taib is not too concerned about parliament.

PRS truly represents Dayaks

Parliamentary election’s is not Taib’s top priority, but state is. Rumours are rife that he’s had a finger in the chaos within SUPP, SPDP and PRS. A divided state coalition allows him to have better control of his ‘partners’ and an increasingly empowered native community courtesy of the opposition.

Masing is said to be a thorn in Taib’s side. In the run-up to last year’s state election, Masing, unhappy with Taib constantly ignoring his proposals, met directly with Najib and in one instant managed to thwart attempts to allow an ex-PRS incumbent elected representative, Larry Sng, from contesting.

On Saturday, stamping PRS’ sway over Sarawak’s majority Dayak community, Masing said the party was the “custodian” of Dayak interest and that its elected representatives were “duty bound” to protect the race.

“For all intents and purposes, PRS is the party which truly represents rural constituencies where most of the Dayaks happen to reside.

“Therefore, we do not apologise for who we are and the basis of our political stand and struggles,” he said alluding perhaps to the known ‘issues’ between him and Taib.

Masing further warned members to be wary of “attempts” to stir discontent within the party adding that enemies and approaches came in different forms.

“There are people who are envious of our strength and will try to de-stabilise us. They maybe individuals or groups.

“They will (either) contest against us when the general election is called (or) slyly fight us by pretending to our friends or friends of the group and pull us down.

“The other way is to de-stabilise us is by picking on some of our members who exhibit certain weaknesses. This will be a subtle approach and by people who we are familiar with. Thus without realizing it, we will fall into a trap which will eventually break the party’s solidarity,” said Masing.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Pakatan is the custodian of nepotism and term limitless as well as continuation of apartheid. The Dayaks do not need a ‘custodian’, custodianship implies a lack of mental capacity. Do the Dayaks see what an insult Pakatan has offered up to them? The Dayaks will demand equal representation and full 100% disbursement of profits from East Malaysia as well as return of all stolen lands – not this so-called ‘custodianship’. Dayaks in fact could secede and demand a seat at the UN instead of ‘custodianship’. Wake up Dayaks, simply because when someone pretends to talk to you like an adult, that does not mean they respect you or will grant you rights as an equal or allow you the autonomy of an adult – thats like an ADULT ‘pet animal’ being trapped in that cage forever EVEN when adult when their natural preference is to roam the world or set up their own habitates without bars and feeding times or what not . . .

, the Dayaks need to think clearly and fight back against condescension – the contents of the words are those for a child, or in this case mentally inept! Demand equality or leave the Malaysian Federation to form your own nation with a seat at the UN if either caolition BN or PR does not promise via statuary declaration to grant :

;as well as return ALL stolen and illegally occupied lands as well as 100% disbursement right to ALL wealth from East Malaysia as well as 1st class citizenships. Perhaps after the stupid and shameless or selfish Chinese Malaysian voters and politicians see this action by the Orang Asli will APARTHEID of BUMIPUTERA end.

KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 28, 2012): Once the Strata Management Bill 2012 is enacted, the management of a gated community can apply for a court order to seize and auction the property of a delinquent house owner to offset management fee owed.

Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Chor Chee Heung told Sin Chew Daily in an interview published today that this is because house owners were fully aware when they purchased their property that they had to pay monthly management fee for security service rendered.

This rule also applies to gated apartments and condominiums.

The Strata Management Act 2012 (SMA) is to replace the Building and Common Property Act 2007.

Chor said in fact the Building and Common Property Act 2007 empowers the management of a gated community to take the aforesaid action against delinquent property owners, but many people are not aware of this as it is not clearly defined in the act.

He said he had spent a lot of time and talked to not less than 20 related organisations on this matter to come up with the new act
(SMA).

However, he said, the government cannot do anything if house owners in guarded communities refuse to pay for guards hired to watch over and patrol their areas, as it is not stated in the owners’ sale-and-purchase agreement.

Chor also said that under the SMA, residents of a housing area need only obtain the consent of 51% of the residents to set up a guarded community, compared with 80% under the present law.

“Residents who hire guards to beef up security in a housing estate do it on their free will and out of their own pockets. If the other 49% of the residents believe the housing area is safe, and that they need not pay for additional security, they cannot be forced to do so,” said Chor.

He pointed out that roads within a gated community are private property, and therefore residents within the community have the right to deny access to non-residents.

“On the other hand, roads within a guarded community are public property. The security guards have no right to deny non-residents access to the area.”

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

This is idiotic and democracy destroying. Beware? Which MPs ratified the act? Which people drafted the act? These 20 organisations who proposed or back these abusive laws are a plague upon the ‘conscientious objectors’ of the gated community! Just because some people want guards does not mean others should pay and backed by government as well! The man’s home is their castle but a group of men with castles unless intending to be thugs or warlords cannot STEAL already paid for ownership because others living around them intend to force them to pay for extraneous services that they do not want. The Housing Minister in fact should act to disallow such laws not implement and announce the same.

This empowers the management of the gated community, or even the Resident’s Committee to unprecedented levels in society, into that of local gangsters, and actual gangsters do not even have power to sell off people’s property! This is like Japan selling China’s Diaoyu Islands! Who paid for the unit? The management, so-called Resident’s Committee or the owner? If the mob mentality of the rest of the residents and colluders want the security, that’s their business and they cannot be penalized for living in the area. Those who do not want to be controlled by the doubtless political party backed so-called managment of gated communities however have every right to refuse to pay. This is blatant legalist bullying legalized gangsterism almost, and cannot be allowed, a feudal mentality of anything. Taking away people’s homes simply for refusing to pay for guards is UN unendorsable in law. Absolutely uncivilised and uneducated. No lawyers on this as usual eh? Bunch of legal lap-dogs that UN has somehow seen fit to award . . .

The Rakyat had better understand the ramifications of such a law that allows a mere management company or group of mob minded residents to sell property that does not belong to them! Vote out the MPs who began this disaster against democracy! The incidental beneficiary of guards cannot legally be beholden to relinquish 100s of 1000s even millions worth properties because the laws make no sense o r are written with collusion in mind. Vote for 3rd force!

This is also another reason why hi-rise and now gated community units are a serious problem especially with law makers like these. The grey area autonomy issues in common spaces end up being abused in this manner which would doubtless be employed against political opponents of any politicians who are inclined to bing term limitless (meaning ganglord type satrapies withuot term limits), and amounts to protection rackets! So for example a handful of people try to pull a fast one in collusion with as many as possible that they want ‘guards’ (doubtless relatives or cronies with aging parents in the security field) and effectively force everyone else to pay up or their unit will be sold off (by all common sense considerations this is unconstitutional) . . . THEN consider if ethnicity is brought into consideration as well! Structural abuse of civilian rights backed by bad laws!

One can imagine the destruction of the sense of nation further and worsening of management gangs or property developers with this sort of mentality (identify which property developers or land bank owners that write up or assent to such abusive powers and you will identify the 1% in Malaysia that will never allow Allodial Titles and keep raising quit rents and maintenance fees AND NOW with new abusive powers to take away entire life savings worth of properties that the courts also back – all for not paying guards that are their cronies and aging relatives?! Wake up voters! Vote for 3rd Force! Kongsi Ho? More like Boho!

KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 28, 2012): Drug rehabilitation organisation Pengasih Malaysia today urged the attorney-general to penalise the abuse of kratom (ketum) leaves under the Dangerous Drugs Act instead of the Poisons Act, and also to regard glue-sniffing under the former law as well.

Pengasih president Datuk Mohd Yunus Pathi said this was necessary to check the abuse of kratom leaves, which were addictive, especially if mixed with certain items.

He said a study by Pengasih found that some adults in their 40s consumed a kratom extract mixed with coffee or other drinks to boost their energy.

“Taking a kratom drink on a regular basis will have an adverse effect on the health of the consumer,” he told reporters at Rumah Pengasih, here.

Mohd Yunus also regarded the sniffing of glue as a serious problem.

“There is no specific law on sniffing glue, although the practice can cause brain damage and lead to crime and social ills,” he said.

He proposed that the aftercare programme for former drug addicts be reviewed as certain aspects were seen as obstacles for them to lead a normal life. – Bernama

Ridiculous and condescending. Coffee, Sugar and Milk can also be abused. Try over drinking too much of these everyday drinks/condiments and possibly become very ill. Kratom is also liable to be abused in the same manner or could be taken in moderation as well. ‘. ‘God’ gave man the right to the world and the food and plants on the world. Government is but a group of men. Which group of men have a a right to tell another group what they can or cannot do? Where are those Organics Psychedelics Zones for much like the ones in Amsterdam? Illegal and rare makes for high profit and high fines . . . for victimless crimes? Undemocratic.

GEORGE TOWN (Oct 26, 2012) : Veteran lawmaker Karpal Singh has called on party representatives who hold both parliamentary and state seats to declare that they will only contest one seat in the next general election.

He said that during one of the party’s central executive committee (CEC) meetings, the committee had agreed by consensus that a candidate should only hold two seats in “exceptional” cases.

” I had suggested that Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng should be considered an exception, ” he said at a press conference in Farlim market earlier today.

Karpal said that at present the party has nine representatives holding two seats – three in Penang, two in Perak, one each in Negri Sembilan, Selangor, Kuching and Sibu.

The three who are holding two seats in Penang are Lim, state DAP chairman Chow Kon Yeow and Deputy Chief Minister II P Ramasamy.

Lim is currently Bagan MP and Air Putih assemblyman, Chow is Tanjong MP and Padang Kota assemblyman while Ramasamy is the Batu Kawan MP and Prai assemblyman.

Karpal, who is also DAP national chairman said it was up to the CEC to decide which seat the candidate should give up.

He added that there should not be any difficulties in surrendering seats as the DAP was no longer short of candidates.

Chow was recently quoted as saying that the party would allow its candidates to concurrently contest two seats if the situation calls for it.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

After a slew of DAP failures and 90% failed campaign promises as well as a scores of abusive run ins with the local traders and residents over refusals to amend laws, 1 SINGLE move towards best practices in democracy (outweighed by dozens of worst practices) will not make a difference to the voters aware of the undemocratic rubbish DAP now is. Karpal being such a veteran politician should know that this single action cannot change the minds of the educated voters at all because democracy is only for DAP members and no other Rakyat at all. DAP is such a hateful political party, term limitless and nepotistic to boot! Again I post what the voters need to know :

NEPOTISM IN PAKATAN RAKYAT Three of the family blocs below must be challenged so that only a single candidate without relatives remains :

Lim Kit Siang (MP Ipoh Timur – Perak)

Lim Guan Eng (MP Air Puteh – Penang)

Chew Gek Cheng (Assemblyman Kota Laksamana – Malacca) Guan Eng’s wife

Lim Hui Ying Guan Eng’s sister (Vice-Chairman)

Two of the below must be challenged so that only a single candidate without relatives remains :

Karpal Singh (MP Jelutong – Penang)

Gobind Singh (MP Puchong – Selangor) Karpal’s son

Jagdeep Singh (Asssemblyman Dato Keramat – Penang) Karpal’s son

Two of the below must be challenged so that only a single candidate without relatives remains :

Anwar Ibrahim (MP Permatang Pauh, Seberang Prai)

Wan Azizah

Nurul Izzah Anwar(MP Lembah Pantai – Kuala Lumpur)

Anwar’s Daughter Also either Ngeh (Pantai Remis) or Nga (Sitiawan) must go to prevent 2nd degree nepotism and the kind of environment that caused DAP’s Kulasegaran, PKR’s Gobalakrishnan, to be kicked out possibly an act of racism but more likely at the order of the Lim Dynasty clique. BN of course we do not need to discuss, blocs of relatives galore.

MCA, MIC, Gerakan are also littered with nepotism – political parties are not family clan associations (family clan associations being unpopular enough already due to the same politicking as well whu=ich drives same named families away from the same structures . . . ).

HRP might very well be aware of some things we are not aware of to list some surprising choices as well, do not discount their reasons. PSM’s Jeyakumar appears to have been bought by BN though, so their viability is uncertain until PSM’s clique leadership changes. I have done some probing and casual calls to PSM, they are not very grassroots and quite a clique based outfit very suspicious of outsiders.

DAP of course (also tried earlier) is far worse and absolutely TREACHEROUS and clique based and beholden to SINGAPORE’s PAP. I would not be surprised if the nepotists in DAP are rounded up a 2nd time, for collusions with Singapore to subvert Malaysian Federal authority instead amongst other things like ‘neurotech abuse’.

Everyone else, should meanwhile stand as independents in any constituency with bad assemblymen or MPs or people who do not endorse term limits and asset declarations. Here’s something that will help voters decide if candidacy is not their thing or too expensive :

Barisan – Apartheid, Corrupt and Nepotistic-Oligarchs

Pakatan – Corrupt and Nepotistic-Oligarchs (excepting PAS)

3rd Force – Corrupt Only

Independents – any citizen can be an independent, think you are not a plutocrat (worth less than 20 million), will respect term limits and not write 750K/120K funeral laws in favour of yourself? Not racist? Then run for election! The world needs you! Here’s something that will help voters decide if candidacy is not their thing or too expensive : Pick the coalition with the least flaws.

BN = 90% Apartheid, 90% Nepotism, 90% Corrupt

PR = 50% Nepotism, 50% Corrupt

3rd Force = 0% Nepotism, 0% Corruption

Pick the coalition with the least flaws. End the APARTHEID ! Destroy the Oligarchs in all political coalitions ! 3rd Force is best. Beware voters, as mentioned many times before, it could be critical that Selangor and Penang MUST be controlled by neutral parties neither BN nor PR dominated, and East Malaysia controlled by local East Malaysian political parties ONLY (not Peninsular Coalitions like BN or PR), with the remainded left for Pakatan Rakyat, OTHERWISE Pakatan Rakyat with its burgeoning nepotists and oligarchs will become a second BN. Vote 3rd Force!

ARTICLE 11

Berjaya Land plans RM9.92bil casino and mall on Jeju Island – by TEE LIN SAY – linsay@thestar.com.my | Nov 2, 2012Ng: Jeju Resort will create some 4,000 jobsJEJU ISLAND: Berjaya Land Bhd’s (BLand) US$3.2bil (RM9.92bil) Berjaya Jeju Resort will feature the biggest casino and shopping mall in South Korea, along with condominiums, villas, hotels and a landmark building once it is completed.The first phase to be launched will be its 51 villas and 96 “market walk” units with a gross development value of US$250mil, with prices starting from US$1,000 (RM3,300) per sq ft.BLand chief executive officer Datuk Francis Ng is confident of generating 25% return from Phase 1 alone.“In South Korea, we can only start selling the units once we have done 20% of construction works. We should be able to start selling in three to four months. However, our pre-marketing is already starting,” he said.Ng said this at the opening ceremony of BLand’s property gallery here.He added that for the moment, Phase 1 would be fully funded by internal funds, although some financiers had expressed interest to provide loans. The entire Phase 1 should be completed in 26 months.Right now, Jeju Island has the support of the Central Government of South Korea to transform the area into an international tourist destination, matching the likes of Hong Kong and Singapore.BLand’s wholly owned subsidiary Berjaya Leisure (Cayman) Ltd has a 72.6% stake in the project, while Jeju Free International City Development Centre has a 19% stake and Swan Street Partner LLP holds the remaining 8.4%.Ng said the Jeju Resort, which has one kilometre coastline, would create some 4,000 jobs and would help provide more hotel accommodations currently not available on the resort island.“We will have some three hotels in our resort. Right now, we are in talks with Ritz Carlton to be our partner for one of our hotels,” he said.Since venturing into the project in 2008, BLand has pumped in some US$100mil (RM310mil) on the infrastructure works itself. It bought the 75-acre freehold land for US$62mil (RM192.2mil) or US$8 (RM24.80) per sq ft.Currently, buyers who buy properties worth US$500,000 and above in Jeju Island will be entitled to permanent residency in the resort island.On the casino front, Ng said the group was not in a hurry to proceed with the development as presently, the South Korean government had yet to issue domestic casino licences.The local government of Jeju Island is in talks with the Central Government of South Korea to review the liberalisation of this domestic casino licence. Jeju Island is a self governing province in South Korea.Meanwhile, for the shopping mall component, BLand intends to develop it on its own and look for a local partner.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

We don’t NEED another tycoon and another stupid money laundering purposes and inaccessible super casino in ANOTHER country. We want 4D outlets to offer casino games in our street corners. We want casino billionaires to change the law to ensure the rights of non-Muslims to gamble be not interfered with in the above suggestions! Preferably monopoly free and non-relative franchise related!

In their joint research, Universiti Malaya (UM) senior lecturer in development studies Dr Lee Hwok Aun and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) research fellow Dr Muhammed Abdul Khalid found that fresh Chinese graduates are more likely to be called for a job interview based on their resumes compared to Malays.

“Our findings suggest that employers are generally predisposed favourably towards Chinese, substantially due to compatibility factors and unobservable qualities not revealed in job applications, and are more selective towards Malays, which results in fewer but considerably qualified applicants getting callbacks,” the duo stated in an abstract of their seminar paper being presented at UM today.

The two academics said they had conducted a field experiment by sending made-up resumes of fresh Malay and Chinese graduates to real job advertisements.

From their research, Lee and Muhammed Abdul found that while both Malay and Chinese graduates who listed Chinese-language proficiency and stated that they graduated from a certain university were likely to increase their chances to be called for an interview, yet employers — especially those that were Chinese-controlled or foreign-run — were significantly inclined to pick the Chinese applicant.

They noted that the racial discrimination was sharper in engineering jobs than in the accounting or finance sector.

They also found that in the engineering industry, Malays were most likely to be rejected by foreign-controlled companies, followed by Malay-controlled companies and lastly Chinese-controlled firms.

However, they said their data does not directly show the motif of the racial discrimination in the hiring process based on the experiment they had conducted.

Lee and Muhammed Abdul are presenting their paper, titled “Does race matter in getting an interview? A field experiment of hiring discrimination in Peninsular Malaysia”, at UM’s Economics and Administration Faculty at 10am.

Malaysia’s mushrooming local higher education institutions churned out a total 184,581 graduates last year, according to the latest statistics released on the Higher Education Ministry’s website. Of that figure, 44,391 people or 24 per cent are unemployed. The Najib administration has set aside some RM500 million in its Budget 2013 to spend on jobless youths to make them marketable.

…
written by @GetReal, November 02, 2012 20:43:29
There are very poor grounds for the survey to be meaningful. The survey is carried out in a country which practise institutionalised discrimmination. Admission to Government universities are on race base quotas and not merit. Standards have been lowered to accommodate students who were admitted on the basis of the quota. None Malay students are the creme de la creme and have to work hard to justify their father’s scholarship. So we expect vastly different standards in the graduates. The private universities probably produce better graduates as they have genuinely better qualified lecturers. I met a none Malay electronics engineer who helps to design programmable computer chips.. He is paid an annual salary of Rgt.500,000 He says some lecturers in the local Government Uni have a problem understanding his lectures! Race based quota is the cause of race based discrimination.

…
written by @upsidedown119, November 02, 2012 20:35:33
written by Imprimatur: As an employer in Malaysia, and a foreigner to boot, I have observed middle management with very obvious preferences based not so much on race but on the perceived values that each race allegedly has…….If I had to jump on the racist bandwagon that seems so popular here, I would actually say that the attitude displayed by people like mvinside makes a good case against hiring Chinese employees … nothing worse than staff filled with pride at their race’s perceived strengths and having little else to offer.

Base on the obvious bias in your comment, it’s not hard to conclude that either you or your company is the sub-contractor of a UMNO-BN crony contractor or the manager of a crony company itself. Your comments runs counter to my own observations many members of top management, including of public-listed companies!

But if you are the beneficiary of a UMNO-BN crony contract, then the ‘buta gaji’ for those extraneous engineers are already provided for in the inflated contract price! If not, you are likely to go bankrupt.

…
written by @EU, November 02, 2012 20:18:23
Why don’t you do a survey on the private malay companies? They almost employed 100% malays, unlike the chinese companies. And from experience, even if two resumes are the same, I can tell you, the chinese can speak better English than the malays because the malays will always answer back in B.M. They refused to speak other languages. Also I know that the malay ladies also will go to prayer room in the afternoon. Friday, Malay guys will be allowed to go to mosques. Employers are looking for profitability. Chinese only takes little time for lunch and work overtime too. Employers are also very wary of dismissing a malay staff even if he or she is not performing. So, the private sectors more likely to call in chinese for interview because they believe their qualifications are real. It is a matter of trust and through experience.

…
written by @Jimmy Lim, November 02, 2012 19:23:18
What a lot of crap. Bias n racist study. What about GLC n Govt where 99% are malays?

…
written by @EU, November 02, 2012 11:51:37
I don’t believe this report. How is it my former china man company employs more malays than chinese. And in my department, out of 15 employees, only 2 are chinese. If the public sectors do not employ chinese and private sectors also will not employ chinese, then, where would the Chinese go. Are they satisfy only when the chinese have no jobs and become beggars. This kind of report is not helpful at all. It only stirred up the races. It is only logical that since more malays are employed in the public sectors, they are less likely to go for the private companies that offer no pensions on retiring. Whereas, there will be more chinese applying for private jobs since they cannot get into the public sectors.

…
written by @Kiwi, November 02, 2012 18:23:40
Actually the comments are more interesting than the article. What they reveal is why as an outsider I look at Malaysia and shake my head and what bigots so many of you are.

About half the commenters argue that discrimination like this does occur, but it’s justified because Chinese are hardworking/ smarter etc. You ignore that the resumes were identical but only the race was different. But you think that discrimination is acceptable because your stereotype of Malays in general is that they are lazy/ poor workers etc. Well my friends that is the precise definition of racism. You have two identical candidates and you make a judgement that one is inferior to another based on his or her race.
The other half of commenters say that this is discrimination but it’s ok because the Government sector discriminates against non Malays. So two wrongs make a right. Then you go on to suggest that Chinese employers only started discriminating against Malays because of the NEP. Yet you are ignorant of history. The Tunku back in the sixties was speaking with the Australian ambassador from his office in KL. He pointed across the shop lots below and said (I paraphrase) how many of these businesses owned by Chinese will employ a Malay worker – almost none.[[[ *** Response to Comment by @Kiwi *** ]]] So Malay Special Privileges were applied for 15 years after which they were to be reviewed for ending, UMNO did not review. Social Contract broken, the Chinese retaliated. So the reality is that the NEP misused as it may have become was a result of Chinese racism in employment not the cause of it. Want further evidence? Walk through a shopping centre in Australia or NZ and look at the businesses owned by Chinese. How many non-Chinese do they employ? None. Is that the fault of the NEP too?[[[ *** Response to Comment *** ]]] Chinese in Australia has nothing to do with race, but religious habits impacting upon the secular/commercial sphere. Muslims are too religious to do business well (many Malays are forced to be Muslims or lose bumi privileges – or are Muslims by habit if not sometimes violent inculpation by sick minded authoritarian parents – because of the abuse and shame in the childhood coercion to abide religion cases, Muslims are quite closed as a society by necessity and have many inane(insane?) religious rules that impinge on secular society such as loud prayers 5 times daily, Friday halfdays (thats 2 halfdays a 7 day week), MANY Holy days which MUST be holidays that the employer has to bear the brunt of, avoiding pork and alcohol which is served everywhere etc..) with the larger community, so Muslims will always attract less secular customers and employers, which is what Australia and even Malaysia mainly is, secular. Don’t try to create problems by fingering the Chinese when the issue is religious preference caused by the Malays themselves …
written by Babu, November 02, 2012 11:53:48
Have they done the studies in government related jobs? Like the public office, etc? We are not blind you know? I don’t know why the Chinese have to be made like it is something wrong with them for being better, faster or knowledgable. Probably they are good at adapting to the economic environment.Maybe if you put Chinese in the jungle they would be dead in 2 days compared to the native people. It’s all about adaptation to the environment. If your culture blocks your advancement, don’t blame it on the chinese or anyone else. The Chinese have more reasons to blame the NEP and lopsided affirmative actions when it comes to retarding their advancement.

ARTICLE 13

Al-Arqam’s shadow cabinet uncovered – by HARIZ MOHD | news@nst.com.my 2 commentsKhatijah Am, known to her followers as Ummu Jah, had been living in self-imposed exile in Mecca for the past few years.KUALA LUMPUR: THE banned Al-Arqam movement, 41 ministries, including for souls, death, ritual sex, led by the founder’s wife, Khatijah Am, is said to have formed a “shadow cabinet” with 41 ministries, including the ministry of the netherworld (kementerian alam ghaib).This was part of its plot to overthrow the government and form an Islamic state, according to information compiled by intelligence agencies.Also listed in its shadow cabinet were the ministries of true souls and sects (roh suci dan tariqat), death and the hereafter (kematian dan akhirat) and family and holy sex (keluarga dan seks suci).Intelligence sources said Khatijah, who is the widow of Ashaari Muhammad and has been living in Mecca after his death, had been holding monthly meetings with “top leaders” of the sect in Malaysia via video conferencing.A source said 54 meetings, dubbed “roh parlimen” (soul parliament) by Khatijah, had been held so far.In their “parliamentary meetings”, which had begun in May 2010, Khatijah had assumed the position as their “prime minister”.”To ensure that Al-Arqam leaders and followers stayed with the movement and follow her orders, Khatijah claimed she received direct orders from her late husband,” a source said.

“She had been involved in running the movement even when Ashaari was still alive. Ashaari suffered a mild stroke in 2005.”

The source added that Khatijah, known to followers as Ummu Jah, had been living in self-imposed exile in Mecca for the past few years.

The group, the source said, had received funding from more than 30 welfare homes in Malaysia run by their proxies.

Some homes run by key personnel in Al-Arqam were registered with the Welfare Department and received government funding.

“These welfare homes received donations, not only from the government, but private companies and unsuspecting individuals as well,” said the source.

“From our intelligence reports, only a small portion of the donations received were used for the homes while the remaining went to Khatijah’s accounts,” the source said, adding that Khatijah lived lavishly in a mansion rented for 340,000 riyal (RM276,000) a year.

The mansion, called RSA Palace, has a conference room, an elevator, gymnasium, sauna and a swimming pool. The source said the movement collected an average of RM800,000 in donations every month.

Meanwhile, Islamic Development Department (Jakim) director-general Datuk Othman Mustapha said they were collecting evidence on the group’s activities.

“We found that the group, through its company, still continues with its deviant teachings. All the claims that Ashaari is Imam Mahdi and Ummu Jah can communicate with her late husband are blatant lies.

“We hope those with information on their activities will come forward to assist in our investigations.”

Al-Arqam was decreed a deviant sect in 1994 by the National Fatwa Council after it was found to have practised Aurad Muhammadiah teachings which was described as misleading Muslims from the true Islamic beliefs.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Al-Arqam is peaceful in the legal physical sense but in the spiritual sense doing much illegal thought via spiritual methods. Ethics also require that the spiritual state of people need to be allowed autonomy. Al-Arqam’s manipulation is much like Malaysian Syariah laws that effectively force Malays via ‘Bumiputra Privilege Removal’ threats to keep Muslims in Islam, or disallow choice to young children in Muslim families to choose their faith.

This is the abuse fostered by Islam that offends the Western and modern world so much, that makes countries like Malaysia into pariahs among nations. Don’t even get into what the worst of the Middle East does to their people. Religion is a tool of control nothing else when applied in this manner. Were children allowed to choose, Islam could well disappear from the planet in as soon as 1 generation. The only way to keep Islam alive is with violence and forced inculpation or bribery with material ‘Islamist’ benefits like in Malaysia’s biased and minority disenfranchising, Malay only – ethnicity based discriminating Bumiputra Apartheid system. If Muslims only seek the afterlife, then why is the entire faith is fillled with money grubbing infidels who care not for the suffering of their fellow Muslims, much less fellow men, what with the extreme wealth some Muslims have and the corruption and lack of ethics everywhere else.

ARTICLE 14

WHY ANWAR IBRAHIM? Time to end race-based politics in Malaysia Featured – written by John Lee M K – Tuesday, 02 October 2012 13:41

It ignores a simple reality: Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has already made history by being the first Malay politician to ever actually win more political support through an explicitly non-racial platform. It is practically impossible to underestimate how Anwar bucked the trend; he has completely turned our understanding of politics in this country on its head.

History has already made it crystal-clear; Malay politicians who try to unite the country by appealing to a common sense of Malaysian-ness inevitably wind up heading into political oblivion. Dato Onn Ja’afar’s political career went up in flames the moment he founded the first multiracial political party in the country, in spite of it having every conceivable advantage – it was literally the incumbent party of the time because of Onn’s towering status in Malayan politics. And it, of course, foundered completely.

Since then nobody has even tried to unite the Malays as Malaysians. Unite the Malays as Malays, of course; Syed Jaafar Albar famously proclaimed in the 1960s that he was a Malay first and a Malaysian second. Syed Hussein Alatas made an admirable attempt to change Malaysian politics through Gerakan, and we all know how that turned out. Literally every Malay leader who has tried to be Malaysian first ever since has risked being branded as a sell-out, a puppet of the non-Malays and a stooge of Lee Kuan Yew.

The one exception was Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who experienced some brief success with his Bangsa Malaysia idea. This only makes sense, considering Dr Mahathir’s iron-fisted handling of anyone who dared to oppose him; it is thus a pity that he never took this policy beyond mere words.

The moment Dr Mahathir handed over the reins to his successor, Malay politicians were up in arms criticising Bangsa Malaysia as a ‘nebulous’ and untenable concept for daring to acknowledge that the non-Malays have a place in this country too.

Brave enough to dump ketuanan Melayu

So here we are today: 51 years after independence, the easiest way to tar a Malay politician next to calling him a Jew-lover is to accuse him of saying this country belongs to the Chinese and Indians too. That is simply how Malaysian politics works; to win the support of the Malays, you need to denounce the non-Malays as foreign squatters, who are only here as a matter of privilege rather than right, a privilege revocable at any time.

And what a coincidence it is – that is exactly how the Malaysian government works too. If you’re not an Indonesian who can be counted as a Malay, your application for permanent residency or citizenship can never hope to see the light of day. If you’re not a Malay, you can expect to hear your fair share of racist remarks in a public national school – and not from students, mind you, but teachers.

As a student you can expect a syllabus which teaches you about the meaning of ketuanan Melayu rather than bangsa Malaysia. As an employee you can expect a civil service where you’re not welcome unless they need you to fulfil their minuscule quota of non-Malay recruits. As an entrepreneur you can expect a government – and many government-linked companies – which will not give you any business unless you are a Malay. Half a century after independence, and that’s what 40% of this country has to look forward to.

And since this is how the government works, up-and-coming politicians and political activists realise this is how politics works too. That is why even though you will never hear the typical Malaysian voicing such sentiments, political activists will readily denounce the non-Malays as foreign squatters here at the behest of a social contract which gives them the privilege, not right, to stay and live here.

Since this is how politics and government have worked since time immemorial, we owe Anwar an incredible debt for nearly single-handedly turning all this – everything – completely on its head.

‘Anak Melayu, anak saya. Anak Cina, anak saya. Anak India, anak saya’

For the past half century, to be a good Malay leader, you have either had to publicly proclaim your support for ketuanan Melayu – and not the mild ketuanan as in strong leadership, but ketuanan as in ‘blood will run in the streets if our demands are not met’ – or you have had to simply avoid commenting on the issue and just hope you can be all things to all people.

Anwar ran on a platform, not of vague meaningless nice-sounding platitudes, but a platform explicitly against everything ketuanan Melayu stands for.

This is a man, mind you, who celebrated the end of his ban on active politics by damning ketuanan Melayu and consigning it to the dust heap of history. This is a man who has publicly and repeatedly proclaimed that his commitment is to the sovereignty of the people – ketuanan rakyat – rather than the dominance of the Malays.

This is a man who has never wavered from his stand that the philosophy of government assistance based on racial origin, rather than economic status, is fundamentally and morally wrong. This is a man who has repeatedly, wherever he goes, whoever he speaks to, driven home the same point, again and again: ‘Anak Melayu, anak saya. Anak Cina, anak saya. Anak India, anak saya.’

And this is a man who has had everything in the traditional playbook of Malaysian politics thrown at him. He’s been labelled a heretic, a sodomite, a liar, a hypocrite, a traitor willing to sell the Malays and Malaysians out at a moment’s notice. The ruling coalition has done everything in their power to make it known far and wide that this is a man committed to non-racialism; committed to a Malaysia where everyone belongs.

Regardless of whether you think he deserves it, or if he was just lucky, credit is due to Anwar: where so many brave Malay leaders have fallen and failed, he has won an incredible victory. Onn Ja’afar was vilified simply for opening up his political party to Malayans of all creeds and colours; Anwar has gone above and beyond, explicitly declaring that this is a country for all Malaysians, whoever they might be. And he has won a resounding victory.

Broke new frontiers

It would be one thing if he scraped through with a majority of less than 5,000 votes in the recent by-election, but the fact is, it was not even close – not with a landslide majority of 15,000, larger even than the majority his wife won before he explicitly condemned ketuanan Melayu. Anwar has succeeded where everyone else has failed; he has carved out a broad base of political support, not on a platform of rights or privileges for one community, but a platform of justice and equality of opportunity for all communities.

Criticise Anwar all you like for his inconsistent and wishy-washy stands on other issues. Criticise his coalition for its internal dissension and strange hypocrisy all you want. You can even say you have no intention of trusting a man who might just stab you in the back the moment he gains power.

The fact of the matter is, you do not have a choice between Anwar and your ideal, committed, consistent, sincere Malaysian leader. Your choice, in the here and now, is between Anwar and a regime built on racism, built on stoking the flames of mistrust and hatred. This regime of hatred has delivered its promise of ketuanan Melayu; why should we expect things to be any worse under a regime promising ketuanan rakyat?

At the worst, it’s the same old shit under a different government; at best, we might finally have a government and a political system which works for all Malaysians rather than whoever yells the loudest and threatens the most blood.

Making the Malaysian dream a reality

As far as taking power is concerned, this is still a long shot. Anwar may yet turn out to be a flop on delivering if he ever gets the chance to govern. But the simple and stark reality is, as far as we who live in the present are concerned, he is our best and only chance to put a stop to this insanity.

Anwar is not the perfect vessel for uniting the country, but there is a reason he scares the powers that be: he is the first real chance we have ever had to unite the country against the demons of racialism and parochialism. And for now, he is our only chance. He is the only one who can cross ethnic barriers to proclaim a commitment to a Malaysia where Malaysians, not Malays, are sovereign, and actually win more support than before.

I am no huge fan of Anwar, but I recognise what he has done, and how far he has come. I support him, not because I like him as a person, but because I believe in the cause he champions, and because I believe that if there is any person in this country who can make that dream a reality, it is Anwar Ibrahim.

MAILBAG

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Lies. 90% of campaign promises failed by RPK’s reports PKR had 8% quorums for Anwar’s PKR Presidency. Anwar has never mentioned in any clear certain terms (as in the below 3 items) ending apartheid of bumiputra and even has tolerated PAS and DAP’s attempts to implement Hudud. John ‘Chattering Classes’ Lee has been unthinkingly a PKR supporter too long :

In the past 24 hours, two DAP MPs have broken ranks and swung their support for 3rd Force’s call for the immediate suspension of the DAP for ‘campaign promise failure’ offences, pending full study of various public interest issues related to its implementation.

The first to do so is the 3rd Force Youth leader and MP who, after a meeting of the 3rd Force Youth executive council yesterday, called for the government ROS to suspend DAP as a review of the system was necessary to rectify democratic weaknesses in DAP. Today, a 3rd Force MP for Sabah, who is also Deputy Chairman of 3rd Force Backbenchers Club (BNBBC) also crossed the political divide to back the BN call for suspension of DAP.

The BARISAN state governments have already given approval for the suspension of DAP until conclusion of full study and a proper consultation process with all the relevant stakeholders.

Put public good above all

The question now is whether there is any DAP MP, Deputy Minister or Minister who dare to break ranks to call for immediate suspension of DAP to produce the first fruit of DAP’s two-year-old “failed campaign promises” or whether all the boasts of “campaign promises” are just bunkum.

Since the DAP Supremo, Lim Kit Siang has refused to listen to the legitimate concerns about the keeping of canpaign promises, I call on all 3rd Force MPs, whether Minister, Deputy Minister or ordinary backbencher; or other 3rd Force component parties; whether from Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah or Sarawak, to follow the example of 3rd Forcers to support the call for the immediate suspension of Pakatan Rakyat for failure to decxlare assets as promised, failure to implement Local Council Elections and other abuses of democratic processes.

MPs from both 3rd Force and BN can effect an immediate suspension of the Pakatan Rakyat by adopting a common position during the committee stage of the 2013 Budget debate on the Transport Ministry on 20th November 2012.

3rd Force has 25 political parties and if there are at least another 36 MPs from Barisan Nasional and Independents who support the suspension of the Pakatan Rakyat to make a total of a parliamentary majority, then Lim Kit Siang would have no choice but to resign as MP of Bandar Melaka and all posts in the DAP Committee and Pakatan Supreme Council as per democratic requirments and limits on terms, if Lim Kit Siang refuses to heed the voice of the majority of MPs to immediately drop all MPs who have family blocs and have breached term limit prohibitions.

While 3rd Force is against the implementation of the AES system alongside Pakatan Rakyat, the severe failure and shamelessly undemocratic, nepotistic and term limitless culture of DAP is unacceptable.

AES implementation has been suspended in Pakatan Rakyat controlled states for now.

ARTICLE 16

Demoguery? People slip in their postings. RPK slips far more often IMHO . . .

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Not all Chinese are interested in power for power’s sake, rather Chinese need the power to ensure Democracy as in the below 3 items, and also to prevent Hudud by weak minded seemingly insane Dhimmifiers of the world which UMNO is and UMNO having continued apatheid in Malaysia against minorities like the Chinese necessitates – THIS IS WHY the Chinese want to kick out the Malay Umno government NOT greed and lust (for money or as the poorly applied NLP indicates – sexuality which we all know RPK has issues about in the LGBT area, even though none are forcing their will on RPK . . . ) :

RPK should not display this lack of ability to differentiate between the types of Chinese who hold types of mindsets, and not just lump all Chinese into a single group – i.e. Lustful and Greedy. The Chinese? the entire Malay race is probably mixed-half-chinese/half-Orang Asli and RPK isn’t even truly ‘Malay’ anymore . . . stop ethnic profiling, and start reading the Human Rights Charter. Say with me . . . H-U-M-A-N- this is more difficult than teaching an Orang Utan to smoke or wear a monkey-suit. Lazy or senile? Or human rights unaware? Maybe all 3. Whats wrong with you RPK? RPK is getting less and less viable to challenge as an MP despite the finances and networks . . .

SINCE George Town received Unesco World Heritage Site (WHS) status in 2008, over RM46.3mil has been allocated to restoration work in four major heritage projects.

The most well-known of these heritage properties restored are the Choong Lye Hock mansion and the Loke Thye Kee building.

The other two restoration projects are by Asian Global Business (AGB) and Public Packages Holdings Bhd involving commercial offices and warehouses built in the early 20th century at Weld Quay and Church Street Ghaut.

The AGB Group is restoring two early 20th century commercial and warehouse properties to be an integrated RM220mil Rice Miller Hotel and Residences, which is an in-fill development project.

An in-fill development involves constructing a project from scratch.

The cost of restoring a heritage project depends on the quality of finishing used and normally ranges between RM300 and RM400 per sq ft.

Sometimes a company spends more for restoration because of the condition and age of the property.

A prime heritage property in George Town can fetch rental of between RM5 and RM10 per sq ft, which means that a 2,000 sq ft heritage property strategically located can generate a rental of RM10,000 to RM20,000 a month, according to Henry Butcher Malaysia (Penang) vice-president Shawn Ong.

The Choong Lye Hock mansion restoration project, located on 48,943 sq ft at Macalister Road, was undertaken by local businessman Datuk Sean H’ng and his wife Datin Karen H’ng.

The Choong Lye Hock mansion belonged to a tycoon and philanthropist, who bought the property in the late-1890s.

Lye Hock is the father of local millionaire Ch’ng Eng Hye and the grandfather of badminton legend Datuk Eddy Choong.

The restored building, now known as Macalister Mansion (MM), has eight hotel rooms, two restaurants called The Dining Room and The Living Room, and two bars called the Bagan Bar and The Den.

Macalister Mansion opened its doors to the public in April 2012.

According to MM public relations director Josephine Leong, the planning and the restoration work for the 17,286 sq ft mansion took about 20 months.

“This is corporate responsibility initiative project to demonstrate that old colonial buildings can be regenerated into useful and practical spaces with a contemporary feel.

“It took us 12 months to restore and reinforce the original columns, staircases and archways, original brick walls and wall cornices.

Leong says the Macalister Mansion project was more about a labour of love.

“The owners want to raise the bar in the boutique hotel scene in Penang. As global travellers, they would like to bring back that differentiated hotel experience where guests get to enjoy a more personalised and intimate level of service within luxurious surroundings,” Leong adds.

Raine & Horne Malaysia director Michael Geh says about RM2mil or about RM630 per sq ft was spent on restoring Loke Thye Kee, known as the oldest restaurant in Penang, at Burmah Road.

According to Geh, a local investment company, Loke Thye Kee.com, set up by Singaporean investors, bought the double-storey property from a local businessman some about six years ago.

“About two years, which included also the time to obtain the green light from the local authorities for renovation, was spent on restoring the building with approximately 3,200sq ft of built-up area.

“It has been leased to a local company called Food People Sdn Bhd, which plans to set up soon a Hainanese restaurant, and food and beverage outlets,” he says.

Known as the House of Happiness in Hainanese, the Loke Thye Kee restaurant was established by brothers Loy Kok Boon and Loy Kok Dai, who leased the building from local businessman and philanthropist Khoo Sian Ewe.

AGB Group spent RM21.5mil or RM860 per sq ft to restore two heritage commercial and warehouse properties built in the early 20th century at Weld Quay.

AGB chief executive officer Dr Noraini Abdullah says the restoration turned out to be costly because a lot of work had to be done for strengthening the physical buildings, as their conditions were bad.

“About RM16mil was spent for restoring and reinforcing the physical infrastructure of the warehouse building, which serves as the event hall of the Rice Miller Hotel.

“Another RM5.5mil was spent in restoring a 5,000 sq ft colonial commercial building that will serve as the restaurant for the Rice Miller Hotel,” she adds.

The Rice Miller Hotel and Residences project is scheduled for completion next August and scheduled for opening in Dec 2013.

It will comprise 48 hotel suites, 99 city residences, which range between 800 and 2,500 sq ft in built-up, 23 retail lots of 600 sq ft, and two blocks of five-storey office buildings.

“In the past 12 months, we have sold 50% of the retail lots and city residences. Most of the buyers comprise Penangites and investors from Ipoh and Kuala Lumpur,” she adds.

Next to the Rice Miller Hotel and Residences project, Public Packages Holdings Bhd (PPHB) is restoring two heritage double-storey commercial properties with over 39,632 sq ft to be integrated into a RM50mil in-fill heritage hotel cum commercial project located at Church Street Ghaut, off Beach Street, which is popularly known as the central banking district.

PPHB hotel project manager Tony Koay says the group would spend RM15.8mil or RM400 per sq ft to restore the two heritage properties with fittings.

“One of the heritage commercial building with 11,000sq ft will be restored as part of the in-fill heritage hotel.

“The other heritage property with 28,632sq ft will be restored for commercial and office usage,” he says.

Koay says the advantage of carrying out infill development work for the heritage hotel project was that one could maximise the interior of the buildings to suit the needs of modern business usage.

The cost per sq ft to develop a heritage hotel from scratch with furnishings is about RM1,000 per sq ft, says Koay.

“A problem with restoring a heritage building for hotel usage is that the interior of such heritage buildings restricts the utilisation of space,” he says.

Koay adds that the in-fill heritage hotel would have over 150,000 sq ft of built-up area, 150 rooms, a business centre, meeting rooms, two-level of basement car-park, and retail shops on the ground floor.

“The architectural style for the hotel follows the design of late 19th and early 20th century port offices and warehouse buildings in George Town.

“We are targeting the upmarket tourists,” Koay says.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Dishonest 90% failed campaign promises DAP, now disingenuously posing as hardworking. 46 million could be used to file a lawsuit against the Federal Governnment for :

This restoration b.s. is just Business NGO work, or perhaps Architecture NGO work, and NOT Political party work. Whats a political party for? Fighting for human rights and equality, not pushing ‘restoration projects’ while clinging on to undemocratic nepotism or term limitlessness. Weak and undemocratic!

ARTICLE 18

Compelling ‘Malays’ to be Muslims: Why M’sians should support Nurul Izzah – written by Gavin Khoo – Monday, 05 November 2012 07:22

Politicians are known to be chameleons and most of them would tailor make their statements according to their audience. Not for Nurul Izzah, an emerging force within the party, Parti Keadilan Rakyat, which was founded to fight against Anwar Ibrahim’s persecution.

At a forum on “Islamic State: Which version; Who’s responsibility?”, she was reported to have said “People should not be compelled to adopt a particular religion and this should also apply to Malays.”

“When you ask me, there is no compulsion in religion… how can anyone say sorry, this (religious freedom) only applies to non-Malays, it has to apply equally.” she said.

She was responding to a question from the floor on whether Malays should have religious freedom like non-Malays.

“Malay” is defined under Section 160(2) of the federal constitution as a person who professes Islam, habitually speaks the Malay language and conforms to Malay customs.

Ultimately, she said, what should be sought is “quality” where Muslims’ faith is strong.

“Even me, being schooled in Assunta (secondary school) with a huge cross in the hall and an active singing Catholic society did not influence me,” she said.

However, Nurul Izzah stopped short of saying that Malays should be legally granted religious freedom, saying: “I am, of course, tied to the prevailing views.”

The position she espouses is unprecedented especially when she is a Muslim and she needs the support of largely Muslim voters in her constituency. She is probably facing one of the toughest political fights in her short political life against a much more established candidate, a federal minister, who has much more resources than what she could have mustered before the next GE.

We need a leader a leader who speaks from her own conscience as a democrat and a proponent of universal human rights. She sees a bigger picture than most leaders who would adopt a narrow religious interpretation which can be manipulated for their own political benefit.

Nurul did not attempt any of these cheap political stunts. She speaks up as a democrat, a true Muslim who holds firmly to her faith and a leader who reaches out to soothe the fear of her fellow Muslims against an often manipulated sense of inferiority and threats against their faith.

For this, Straight Talk would like to urge voters in her constituency, Lembah Pantai, to return her moderate voice and outstanding leadership to the 13th Malaysian Parliament.

NLP Warning about the title first – Though the writers may claim bad grammar : Compelling ‘Malays’ to be Muslims: Why M’sians should support Nurul Izzah makes the title of the article an NLP intended to sound like Malaysians should support Nurul BECAUSE of Compulsions of ‘Malays’ (one more NLP here, Malays in quotes can be misread to mean those considered by not actually Malays – subverted minorities perhaps?) to be Muslims.

Otherwise a spot of good news and a slight shift to actual moderation, though structurally and policy wise, still nothing here. Statements hold no water. Laws being changed, and constitutional amendments forwarded for ratification at Parliament at very least do. ‘Congrats’ (being sarcastic) at FINALLY reaching UFO/Bigfoot sighting level. Thats 33.3% and still a fail, though at least 1 PKR person bothered to apply for the exam (made a press statement) but didn’t turn up (no attempt to formalise in law/constitutional amendment) . . . whats the MP seat for? Making statements only? Is Nurul just a blogger or a media outlet and with NLP’s considered is Gavin and Khoo in cahoots with Nurul for more Islamic agendas or inmtentionally trying to demonise Nurul with misrepresentation via NLP titles?

Article 18 of the UN Human Rights charter for the Malays, and Article 1 of the UN Human Rights charter for the minorites, 3) Equality for all ethnicities and faiths in all aspects of policy, Law and Constitution. (Surah An Nisa 4:75) MEANS Bumiputra Special Privileges ENDS . . . not empty talk. Also, nepotism issues still loom, but there will be plenty of time for that later. 2 term limits, and at 23K a month, thats 540K in 2 years! Let someone earn a living at that seat why don’t you or lower that salary to no more than 3 times annual average wage for Malaysia (around 3-4K a mont) . . . then GTFO after 2 terms, so do whatever is worth doing before 3rd force sweeps the back and forth out of the Dewan! This was responded to with Jamil Khir’s racist rant in below link.

More Article 16 type inability to differentiate AGAIN. Equality is not inconceivable. But those who do not gove others their spaces are unconscionable a create a culture of strife. The above Youtube vid is correct to a point but does some form of ‘lumping’ as well.

Equality is not inconceivable. But those who do not gove others their spaces via legal rights (do not disenfranchise minorities) are unconscionable and create a culture of strife. The above Youtube vid is correct to a point but does some form of ‘lumping’ as well, as not all Muslims will tolerate the lack of :

Ahmad Abd Jalil is being investigated over allegedly seditious remarks he had made against the Johor Sultan on his Facebook page. – Reuters pic
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 4 — The family members of Ahmad Abd Jalil, who was arrested on Friday for insulting the Johor Sultan, is pleading with the police not to permit the palace authorities to haul the youth to the royal house for an apology.

The family, responding to talks that Ahmad may be brought personally before the Sultan to apologise for his remarks, expressed fear today over the safety of the 27-year-old if he were to be taken to the palace.

According to an SMS from Ahmad’s sister to one of the family’s lawyer late last night, the police had told her mother that, “if the palace calls, they (the police) would be forced to bring Ahmad to face the Sultan”.

“If they want my son to apologise, bring him to court. Once he enters someone else’s territory, anything can happen and we wouldn’t know who to blame,” Ahmad’s father Abd Jalil Abd Rahman told The Malaysian Insider today.

“Everyone has to respect the due process of the law. And if they want to take my son to court to extract an apology, then so be it.

“Do not force him into palace custody where we have no control over. We are Penangites. We are not used to having a Sultan and we have heard many horror stories. This is our right,” he added.

The 60-year-old former government servant said the police have so far refused all attempts by his family to visit Ahmad, who was arrested in Kuala Lumpur at 8pm on Friday and transferred into the Johor police custody the same night.

As at noon today, Abd Jalil said he will be meeting with the investigating officer in Ahmad’s case.

“We hope to have a positive outcome from the meeting… I just want to see my son,” he said, adding that if it would look bad on the police if they were to forbid him from doing so.

In an SMS to The Malaysian Insider, Ahmad’s older brother agreed with his father in saying that the youth must be kept safely away from the palace compound.

“It is wrong to extract him from the balai/lokap to anywhere. We an apologise but thru proper procedures. Ahmad will apologise openly at court.

“Otherwise, we condone that the system is being used as ‘mode of ugutan (threat)’,” he said in the text message.

Ahmad is being investigated under Section 4(1) of the Sedition Act 1948, believed to be over allegedly seditious remarks he had made against the Johor Sultan on his Facebook page.

He was picked up from his office at around 8pm in Cheras yesterday by several plainclothes policemen before he was brought to the Wangsa Maju police station for questioning.

According to Ahmad’s lawyer Mohd Zakwan Adenan yesterday, the youth was at first not informed of his offence, except that he was allegedly being investigated under the Sedition Act 1948.

“They said they wanted to charge him under the Sedition Act for remarks he made on Facebook but when we asked the police which statement they were referring to, they could not answer,” he said.

Section 4(1) stipulates that any person who utters, prints or publishes any seditious words, on conviction, would be liable for a first offence to a fine not exceeding RM5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or to both.

After interrogating him for several hours at the Wangsa Maju police station yesterday, the police raided Ahmad’s parents’ house in Damansara Damai before taking the youth with them to Johor.

At 3pm yesterday, Ahmad was taken before a Johor magistrate by the police to obtain a three-day remand order.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

The reverse could be said of having the case in Penang and the more urban areas of Malaysia, where the animosity towards all Sultans (who due to tacit approval pf Bumiputra Apartheid contributes in substantial measure to this sort of disafffection, or in some uncommon cases heavy monopoly like involvement in business sectors . . .) could be intentionally used to dismiss the case intentionally to make a salient point about apartheid (minorities) or absolutism (non/anti-royalist Malays) rather than to administer justice which in this case should be an equitable apology to the the measure of insult offered on the social networking site.

Malaysian judges and the legal system in Malaysia are not impartial, and always are politically motivated rather than professionalism or justice motivated, as much as the Bar Council does not address the lack of :

;for the Bar Council’s own political or financial (contract) based profit. I had written on the apartheid issue to every individual Sultan before and had no response whatsoever. Perhaps the letters were intercepted as so many other communications might have been. And due this, or simply crypto-racism, if not authoritarianism on the part of the palace officials if not the post service’s racists or lapdogs, I received no response on the matter whatsoever, as any civil society might have and issues like the above continue to mar relations between the intended as symbolic rulers and and the masses. Stature and privilege should be enough to even ignore this sort of insult, the palace certainly has the resources to unofficially argue back without getting directly involved but from the looks of this sandiwara which might well have ulterior motives of sounding out the populace’s less well written (also less well read) to identify those who are against the palace, which has chosen to get directly involved instead.

OCT 15 — Amy Cheong’s racially-charged post is not the first and, it is probably safe to say given the ubiquity of social media, will not be the last either.

Writing on his Facebook page, Singapore Law and Foreign Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam said that the incident “confirms what I had long suspected and said: There are deep fault lines in our society, based on race/religion … Her comments reflect a deep seated racist attitude coupled with contempt for those who are less well off, or who wish to spend less”.

Race and religion will remain fault lines in our society for a long time to come, and new fault lines, such as the divide between locals and foreigners, will arise. However, I am not so pessimistic that these fault lines are deep.

Since 1965, ethnic relations in Singapore have improved, and the threat of overt ethnic conflict has lessened.

Occasionally, racial and religious tensions have gone up a notch or two — as was the case with the discovery of the homegrown Jemaah Islamiyah cell back in 2001-2002. Singaporeans must not be complacent. But it is also important not to treat our diversity as something to be feared.

The growth and development of the Singaporean identity has helped to reduce race and religion as primary identities of Singaporeans.

Inchoate as it may be, we must endeavour to do more to nurture this civic identity as our primary identity marker — with our racial, religious and other identities being secondary. Each of us has multiple identities, and that is what makes multiracial living possible, harmonious and dynamic here.

VALUES AT ODDS

For me, the Amy Cheong episode underscores a new fault line — that of values.

At one level, Cheong’s vitriol at the Malay practice of hosting wedding receptions at the void decks of HDB estates was couched in racial terms. But I would argue that her views, distilled to the core, stemmed from her severe lack of appreciation of and respect for the values of the Malays.

The sense of community at work, the gotong royong spirit evident, and the very open nature of such wedding receptions speak volumes of the Malay community, and the values that are important to them.

It is always easier to resort to the categories of race and religion to rationalise a group’s behaviour.

Cheong, in attempting to make sense of what it was that irritated her that weekend, explained away their behaviour as being “Malay” and what she perceived as at odds with her own values and, perhaps, that of the non-Malays generally.

Shanmugam alludes to this values gap when he observed that she evinced “contempt for those who are less well off, or who wish to spend less”.

This values gap is not necessarily only denominated in economic terms — it is also about outlook towards life and what truly matters to a person or a community.

It is also this values gap that helps to explain why local-born and foreign-born Chinese, as well as Singaporean-born and foreign-born Indians, may not get along although they are ostensibly of the same race.

MORAL PANIC NOT THE WAY

Shanmugam, in a memorable 2002 parliamentary speech as a backbencher, had said: “I think, it was ingrained in the psyche of many, though not all, non-Muslim Singaporeans that somehow our Muslim Singaporeans were less competitive, and less able.

“These feelings and reactions were reinforced by the relative insularity of the lives which many Singaporeans lead. Those who were involved in community work and had to reach across racial lines could overcome such reactions. But not many had such opportunities.

“Our Muslim Singaporeans, of course, picked up on those feelings. And our Muslim Singapore society stood feeling that it was not adequately respected by sections of Singaporean society. I would add that these are only my personal views, and others may well disagree. We cannot prove or disprove these things. We can only look straight into our hearts and minds.’’

We need to manage sensitively these fault lines, yet also in an enlightened manner.

Yes, we should be concerned about racial and religious differences and keep a watchful eye on anything that undermines the ethnic stability we have. But we should avoid being paranoid about it. A moral panic is not the way to deal with fault lines; if anything, this is more likely to make matters worse.

AIM FOR DEEPER CHANGE

The “solution”, if there is one, is by way of a process, not a “security patch”.

Clamping down on racists posts like Cheong’s deals only with the symptoms. They remove what could be clear and present danger to racial harmony. But they do not ensure that we learn valuable lessons from it or grow in deeper understanding of our differences.

How then do we engage the Amy Cheongs out there who continue to harbour racist views?

We need to challenge these one-sided views on various fronts — from education, to counselling, to self-regulation, to regulation and — occasionally — compliance through the use of coercive law.

But regulation by the state tends to be about using hard law and enforcement action. They can be described as “quick fixes” which may not result in deep-seated behavioural change.

As a society, we still have a long way to go in terms of being truly multiracial.

Of fundamental importance is the need for Singaporeans to appreciate not only why such baseless remarks have no place in our multiracial society — but also why we need to go beyond tolerance to understanding, appreciating and respecting the inherent diversity that is quintessentially Singapore. — Today

* Eugene K.B. Tan is assistant professor of law at the Singapore Management University School of Law, and a Nominated Member of Parliament.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

. . . that is quintessentially NOT Singapore . . . The laws in Singapore are right, but in heart there is no way when 6 million people down south in Singapore are reminded by 26 million up north in Malaysia. . . of the continuous and UN illegal APARTHEID OF BUMIPUTRA. That compounded by the term limitless satrapy forming nepotists.

ARTICLE 2

Malaysia’s elections: Should the international community care? — Ambiga Sreenevasan – October 15, 2012

OCT 15 — Those in the international community may be forgiven for saying, “Is there a problem with the democratic process in Malaysia?”

In the international arena, our leaders portray Malaysia as a moderate Islamic nation that is built on the democratic principles that are enshrined in our Federal Constitution. The fundamental rights of freedom of expression, freedom of association, freedom of assembly, the right to life and a fair electoral process, are indeed guaranteed under our Federal Constitution.

The reality is, however, far less idyllic. There are serious questions whether these rights are respected and upheld by those in power.

Since before the 1990’s, Malaysians have been pushing for a reform of the system of governance. There has been growing discontent over issues like rampant corruption, abuse of power, deaths in custody and selective prosecution (or persecution), to name but a few of the grouses.

We are increasingly alarmed by the use of race and religion by politicians to divide the people for political gain, with no regard whatsoever for the possible long term consequences of this conduct.

We note with disgust our mainstream media descending to the lowest depths of junk journalism. We are appalled at the growing instances of political violence.

In the clearest example of how low we have sunk, human rights defenders and civil society who are seen as opposing the government are facing ruthless attacks by the government of the day. SUARAM, established in 1989 and who has in the past year been exposing possible corruption by Malaysians in high places in the purchase of Scorpene submarines from France, is suddenly facing investigation by several government agencies.

The mainstream media is once again playing its role in showing no regard whatsoever for presenting the whole truth. In a front page news story, preposterous claims were made that NGOs like SUARAM and BERSIH were funded by organisations like National Democratic Institute (NDI) and Open Society Institute (OSI) for the purpose of overthrowing the government. Directors of SUARAM have been hauled up by enforcement agencies for their expose on the corruption, yet our anti- corruption agency fails to even begin to investigate the claims of SUARAM that a huge commission of RM500 million had been received by a Malaysian entity in the Scorpene deal.

Civil society is now continuously portrayed in the media as the enemy who is seeking to overthrow the government at the behest of foreign powers. These accusations have also been hurled at BERSIH, more so since July last year when we had a successful rally of more than 50,000 people on the streets of KL, clamouring for clean and fair elections. Another rally was held in April this year when more than 200,000 people were on the streets, again asking for electoral reform.

Malaysians do not easily take to the streets. The numbers must mean that there were good reasons why they did.

I will not go into more details of the attacks that human rights defenders have had to face by those in authority or those who had the tacit approval of the authorities. Suffice it to say they have been sustained and relentless.

When asked, our leaders will say that this government is reforming because of the replacement of many oppressive laws, and the apparent move to greater democracy. They will say that after the BERSIH rally last year, a parliamentary select committee for electoral reform was set up and a report issued.

What they don’t go on to explain is what replaces these oppressive laws and what they are doing to effectively implement the PSC recommendations. In my view, the new legislation just does not go far enough, and the important recommendations of the PSC report are largely ignored or poorly implemented.

BERSIH also continues to receive reports of electoral malpractices and the integrity of the electoral roll leaves much to be desired. Our Election Commission does not enjoy public confidence and is not seen by many as independent. This together with all the other issues that plague our system of governance leads to the inevitable conclusion that the next crucial general elections will be seriously flawed.

All the so-called reforms are like attempting to varnish a table that is ridden with termites. It is difficult to fix a system that is fundamentally flawed by building on the same rotten foundation. That is, even if there is real political will to reform.

The Global Commission on Elections, Democracy and Security which is headed by Mr. Kofi Annan and which has many distinguished members including H.E Dr Ernesto Zedillo former President of Mexico, Dr Madeleine K. Albright and Professor Amartya Sen, issued a ground-breaking report on clean and fair elections dated September 2012.

In his foreword, Kofi Annan states, “The spread of democracy across the world has been one of the most dramatic changes I have witnessed over the course of my career. In country after country, people have risked their lives to call for free elections, democratic accountability, the rule of law and respect for human rights. Elections are the indispensable root of democracy…..”

I make no apologies for quoting from this report at length for I cannot say it better. The report clearly outlines that clean and fair elections are not just about choosing leaders, but are about building a solid framework for a democracy that works for the people. After studies, the following were some of the conclusions arrived at:

1. “Elections with integrity are important to values that we hold dear — human rights and democratic principles. Elections give life to rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, including freedom of opinion and expression, freedom of peaceful assembly and association, the right to take part in the government of one’s country through freely elected representatives, the right of equal access to public service in one’s country, and the recognition that the authority of government derives from the will of the people, expressed in “genuine periodic elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret ballot.

2. Elections are fundamental to the ethos and principles of democracy…..

3. Citizens lose confidence in democratic processes when elections are not inclusive, transparent, and accountable. When elections have integrity, they bolster democracy, respect fundamental rights, and produce elected officials who are more likely to represent their citizens’ interests.

4. But in addition to promoting democratic values and human rights, elections with integrity can also yield other tangible benefits for citizens. Evidence from around the world suggests that elections with integrity matter for empowering women, fighting corruption, delivering services to the poor, improving governance, and ending civil wars…….

5. Electoral accountability, in turn, is associated with lessening government corruption…….

6. Electoral accountability, in turn, has direct benefits for improving representation of the poor……..

7. Even in countries emerging from civil wars — the most difficult of contexts for building democracy — research now shows that when the termination of the war is accompanied by elections in which former combatants run for office and campaign for votes, countries are less likely to revert to civil war. At the same time, however, other studies note that fraudulent elections are correlated with societal violence and political instability…….”

In an interview after the presentation of the report, Stephen Stedman, director of the Global Commission and a political scientist from Stanford was asked what the motivation was for the report.

In speaking of the chairman Kofi Annan, he said that Annan was “driven by his experience of having to deal with several elections in Africa that had become violent and had gone off the rails. And there is a frustration he feels about how little attention had been paid to those places before they blew up”. (The emphasis is mine)

Let us be clear. Malaysia is not facing the problems or the hopelessness that gave rise to the Arab Spring. We are blessed with an abundance of resources and talent. But to assume that all is well and that there is no need to scrutinise the democratic processes, would be a mistake.

We want change before things do blow up in our faces. We do not want an Arab Spring. We want to choose our leaders in clean and fair elections. If there is to be change, we want to do it through the ballot box.

If the government is willing to overlook, and in fact tacitly support, corruption and abuse of power, and promote racism and religious bigotry for its own ends, how can we trust that the elections will be clean and fair?

There is even an admission of malpractices in the past. A Royal Commission of Inquiry has been set up by the government in the state of Sabah in respect of a large number of foreigners having been given citizenships in exchange for votes for more than 20 years. BERSIH has received reports that this practice continues and even in West Malaysia.

Why is this happening? It is because the party that has been in power for 55 years is now feeling vulnerable. As Aung Sang Suu Kyi has famously said, “It is not power that corrupts but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it.”

So why should one country be bothered about electoral processes in another?

We know that if any such suggestion is made, the immediate diplomatic response is that there will be no interference by one country into such domestic matters of another country. Not that this is entirely true in fact.

As observed of the international community in the commission report “While their rhetorical support for elections with integrity may be constant, their record of responding to flawed elections is not. In some cases, their interest lies in bolstering a preferred candidate, not in an election with integrity per se.

Too often, democratic governments have turned a blind eye to electoral malpractice by regimes and incumbents with whom they have friendly relations”.

And the best answer to why everyone should be interested in clean and fair elections everywhere is stated in the report thus:

“We still live in a world in which states act on their strategic interests. The key lies in reminding democratic governments that their strategic interest is best served by supporting elections with integrity. Not only do democratic governments share an interest in the spread of democracy as a bulwark for international peace, but they must also learn that their bilateral relations are strengthened when their partners have democratic legitimacy earned through genuine elections.”

Malaysia is a member of many important regional and international organisations and appears to enjoy the confidence of its neighbours. We can set valuable examples in the region. We have what it takes to be a role model.

But we can only be that if the example we set is one of a truly democratic system of governance borne out of clean and fair elections. And if we are to be valuable contributors to the global community, then it is in everyone’s interests that our elections are clean and fair.

* Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan is co-chair of the Coalition for Free and Fair Elections (BERSIH).

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Not a word on apartheid? Perhaps that citizen’s lawsuit will have to go ahead without Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan, Tan Sri Simon Sipaun, Suaram or Suhakam’s presence after all . . . wish the non-connected citizens and non-connected activists luck in honesty reaching the highest powers of the world (and beyond?) to put an end to the APARTHEID OF BUMIPUTRA (and lapdog liar citizens that cannot say the word APARTHEID).

(The Star) – Animal rights groups here are upset with local councils for engaging private companies that apparently trespass homes to catch pets.

The discussion among representatives from about 15 groups, including PAWS, KL Pooch Rescue and SPCA, became animated when they voiced their displeasure against such actions, usually instigated by complaints from neighbours of dog owners.

“When you’re not at home, the local councils’ dog-catchers, as well as those from private companies employed by them, cannot remove your dogs,” she pointed out.

“Now, owners have become paranoid. They have to lock their dogs inside their houses when they go out to work,” she said.

Wani said the authorities should instead take up the complaints with the house owner, and not capture the dogs. “And, certainly not when the owners aren’t home.”

Shown at the conference was a YouTube clip that was uploaded on Sept 27, showing several men, believed to be dog-catchers subcontracted by the Ampang City Council (MPAJ), entering a house compound and removing several dogs there.

However, MPAJ deputy president Abd Hamid Hussain said it was all a misunderstanding.

“In the video, the contractors were actually trying to remove stray dogs which had wandered into the house,” he said.

“We had permission from the owner to remove them.”

Yesterday, G. Darwin, 27, and his wife Cynthia Moey, 26, from Kota Kemuning, related how the local authority had removed their dogs.

“I returned from work at about 8pm, and found my porch in a mess,” said Moey.

“I thought someone had broken into my home. I found my dogs missing,” she said. “My neighbour told me that she had called the council to come and take away my dogs.

“The council had actually trespassed my home using my neighbour’s house to jump inside.”

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Man’s home is their castle. If they want to harbour ‘criminals’, get a court order, otherwise no illegal entries!

ARTICLE 4

Human rights situation in Malaysia — Simon Sipaun – October 15, 2012

OCT 15 — Based on the annual reports prepared by Suhakam, Suaram and the US Department of State and information available from newspaper reports, the human rights situation does not appear to be improving in Malaysia. In some ways it has deteriorated especially in respect of political and civil rights.

According to Suaram, the state of human rights in 2011 was worse than in 2010. Twenty-seven people were detained without trial in 2011. The number was 25 in 2010. There were 25 cases of custodial deaths in 2011 compared to 18 in 2010.

Overcrowding in prisons and places of detention continue to persist. In 2010, the country’s 31 prisons held about 38,387 prisoners designed to hold about 32,600. In August 2010, the secretary-general of the Ministry of Home Affairs acknowledged deficiencies in detention centres as well as their failure to meet international standards.

By August 2011 RELA membership reached 2,690,000. There is great concern that they are not suitably trained and experienced to perform their duties in a professional manner often leading to human rights violations of people they are supposed to protect.

Religious freedom concerns

Article 121(1A) of the Federal Constitution, which reads “The courts referred to in clause 1 (i.e. the two High Courts of Malaya and Sabah and Sarawak and the inferior courts provided by federal law) shall have no jurisdiction in respect of any matter within the jurisdiction of the syariah courts.”

The Article does not specify what is within the jurisdiction of the syariah courts. It also does not mention that the syariah courts have been elevated to the same status as the civil High Court. Before Article 121(1A) came into existence the decisions of the syariah courts could be reviewed by the civil High Courts. Problems as experienced now did not arise.

Now we see non-Muslims being left in a situation with no legal remedy. Reference is now being made to Malaysia as an Islamic state but this is not provided for in the constitution. Unusually strict conditions are imposed on building plans for non-Muslim places of worship. More often than not approval takes a long time to be issued.

In Sabah, the approval for the construction of a mazu statue was withdrawn after it was approved by the approving authority and the construction was already in an advanced stage. It was not even a place of worship.

Suhakam reports

Suhakam has now prepared and submitted to Parliament 11 annual reports but so far none has been debated in Parliament. This is indicative of the priority given to the promotion and protection of human rights by the government.

Political rights

During the last three to four years there are indications that people generally are showing greater interest and awareness of their political and civil rights. This being the case, they are now more assertive than ever before in their effort to prevent the authorities from denying them of their rights.

The Bersih 3 rally attracted a multi-racial crowd of about 250,000 people on April 28, 2012. Bersih 3 represents a civil society organisation which promotes clean, free and fair elections. It is therefore most surprising that the government saw it fit to declare it as an illegal organisation. A government which subscribes to and practises good governance would surely support any move towards such noble objectives unless, of course, the survival of the government depends on deceits and cheating during elections.

What Bersih 3 stands for represents universal basic democratic values and attributes. Some on the government side accuse it of being infiltrated by communists without providing hard evidence, identifying them or clarifying their understanding of communists. If communists are bad, why is the government having diplomatic relations with communist countries? Others claim that Bersih 3 is trying to overthrow the democratically elected government by force but again without providing any evidence. In any case, how could it be possible when all they had were water bottles and facing a strong police force armed to the teeth.

A Peaceful Assembly Act was quickly approved by Parliament. Under this Act there is no necessity to obtain police permit prior to holding a peaceful assembly. However it imposes very stringent conditions and as expected the people were very unhappy and showed plenty of reservations. Some of the conditions include street protests being disallowed for non-Malaysians and those below 15 years of age. If you are below 21 years of age you are not allowed to organise a protest.

Electoral roll

As the 13th general election draws near, one of the most important tasks at hand is the spring cleaning of the electoral rolls. This task could be farmed out to a suitably qualified, experienced and independent body. It is common knowledge that the electoral roll is tainted. This has been acknowledged by a High Court judge in the case of the Likas state seat of Datuk Yong Teck Lee. The High Court ordered Yong to vacate his seat, ruling that he won it in 1999 with the help of phantom voters. The judge found out that the 1998 electoral roll for the constituency was illegal and the election held in March 1999 was null and void. The judge further observed that it was just the tip of the iceberg. This prompted Parliament to amend the Election Act, whereby the electoral roll once gazetted cannot be challenged in any court of law. This is not right and bad law.

Ratification of core human rights instruments

To date, Malaysia has not signed and ratified the following core international human rights instruments:

? The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR);

? The International Covenant on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights (ICSECR);

? The Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment;

? The International Convention of the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

Some positive human rights developments

There have been some positive developments. On November 24, 2011 the Emergency Proclamations were revoked. The ISA was repealed. Unfortunately it was replaced by the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 which many feel is just as draconian. Human rights activists feel that the ISA should not have been replaced as there are enough laws available to prosecute all types of offences.

National human rights action plan

Soon after the inception of Suhakam in 2000, it recommended, in 2001, to the government that it should develop and formulate a National Human Rights Action Plan (NHRAP). After more than 10 years the government finally agreed. Such a plan will help to improve and strengthen the promotion and protection of human rights by placing human rights in the proper context of public policy. It is hoped that quick action will be expedited towards the realisation of the NHRAP.

Land rights of indigenous peoples (IP)

Since Suhakam became operational on April 24, 2000 it has been receiving many complaints in the form of letters, memorandum and in persons related to land issues from the Orang Asli and Orang Asal of Sabah and Sarawak. As the problems did not show any indication of being resolved any time soon, Suhakam decided for the first time to hold a national inquiry into the land rights of the IP of Malaysia.

More than 6,500 IP attended the consultation exercise held throughout the country. A total of 892 statements were recorded and 43 public submissions were received. Suhakam in now in the process of finalising the report which includes recommendations to the relevant authorities.

The IP of Sabah and Sarawak continue to be marginalised and experience being displaced from their traditional territories. When the land which they have been living for generations become accessible to modern infrastructure such as roads, water and electricity supply their land naturally become commercially attractive. That is the time when their existence is very threatened. When the original land occupiers apply for the land, more often than not they do not get any response or if they do it will be one of rejection. Very often the same piece of land is alienated to others who have better influence and connection with people in position of authority.

Another category of IP is usually accused by the authorities of encroaching on forest reserves. Some have had their houses burnt by enforcement personnel. Many IP claim they were there before the area was gazetted as forest reserve.

The majority of IP in Sabah and Sarawak still live in the rural areas, mostly surviving as subsistence farmers. It is also in the rural areas where poverty is rampant and access to educational, medical and health facilities is either limited or non-existent.

There is another very important factor which affects Sabah especially, and that is the unusually large population of illegal immigrants who have now outnumbered Malaysians of Sabah origin. They are quickly changing the social, economic, cultural and political landscape of the state. The UNDP and the World Bank have described Sabah as the poorest state in the country and that at least 50 per cent of the total number of poor people in the country are in Sabah. That is the bottom line. No amount of adjectives could cover such sad state of affairs.

* Presented as input by the Association for the Promotion of Human Rights (Proham) to the UN Human Rights and Development Theme Group as NGO input for the UPR process. The report was adopted by Proham members at its meeting held on September 29, 2012

* Tan Sri Simon Sipaun is the chairman of Proham.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Regards the article above, only 1 thing to say. Not a word on apartheid? Perhaps that citizen’s lawsuit will have to go ahead without Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan, Tan Sri Simon Sipaun, Suaram or Suhakam’s presence after all . . . wish the non-connected citizens and non-connected activists luck in honesty reaching the highest powers of the world (and beyond?) to put an end to the APARTHEID OF BUMIPUTRA (and lapdog liar citizens that cannot say the word APARTHEID).

ARTICLE 5

Malaysia’s elections: Should the international community care? — Ambiga Sreenevasan
October 15, 2012

OCT 15 — Those in the international community may be forgiven for saying, “Is there a problem with the democratic process in Malaysia?”

In the international arena, our leaders portray Malaysia as a moderate Islamic nation that is built on the democratic principles that are enshrined in our Federal Constitution. The fundamental rights of freedom of expression, freedom of association, freedom of assembly, the right to life and a fair electoral process, are indeed guaranteed under our Federal Constitution.

The reality is, however, far less idyllic. There are serious questions whether these rights are respected and upheld by those in power.

Since before the 1990’s, Malaysians have been pushing for a reform of the system of governance. There has been growing discontent over issues like rampant corruption, abuse of power, deaths in custody and selective prosecution (or persecution), to name but a few of the grouses.

We are increasingly alarmed by the use of race and religion by politicians to divide the people for political gain, with no regard whatsoever for the possible long term consequences of this conduct.

We note with disgust our mainstream media descending to the lowest depths of junk journalism. We are appalled at the growing instances of political violence.

In the clearest example of how low we have sunk, human rights defenders and civil society who are seen as opposing the government are facing ruthless attacks by the government of the day. SUARAM, established in 1989 and who has in the past year been exposing possible corruption by Malaysians in high places in the purchase of Scorpene submarines from France, is suddenly facing investigation by several government agencies.

The mainstream media is once again playing its role in showing no regard whatsoever for presenting the whole truth. In a front page news story, preposterous claims were made that NGOs like SUARAM and BERSIH were funded by organisations like National Democratic Institute (NDI) and Open Society Institute (OSI) for the purpose of overthrowing the government. Directors of SUARAM have been hauled up by enforcement agencies for their expose on the corruption, yet our anti- corruption agency fails to even begin to investigate the claims of SUARAM that a huge commission of RM500 million had been received by a Malaysian entity in the Scorpene deal.

Civil society is now continuously portrayed in the media as the enemy who is seeking to overthrow the government at the behest of foreign powers. These accusations have also been hurled at BERSIH, more so since July last year when we had a successful rally of more than 50,000 people on the streets of KL, clamouring for clean and fair elections. Another rally was held in April this year when more than 200,000 people were on the streets, again asking for electoral reform.

Malaysians do not easily take to the streets. The numbers must mean that there were good reasons why they did.

I will not go into more details of the attacks that human rights defenders have had to face by those in authority or those who had the tacit approval of the authorities. Suffice it to say they have been sustained and relentless.

When asked, our leaders will say that this government is reforming because of the replacement of many oppressive laws, and the apparent move to greater democracy. They will say that after the BERSIH rally last year, a parliamentary select committee for electoral reform was set up and a report issued.

What they don’t go on to explain is what replaces these oppressive laws and what they are doing to effectively implement the PSC recommendations. In my view, the new legislation just does not go far enough, and the important recommendations of the PSC report are largely ignored or poorly implemented.

BERSIH also continues to receive reports of electoral malpractices and the integrity of the electoral roll leaves much to be desired. Our Election Commission does not enjoy public confidence and is not seen by many as independent. This together with all the other issues that plague our system of governance leads to the inevitable conclusion that the next crucial general elections will be seriously flawed.

All the so-called reforms are like attempting to varnish a table that is ridden with termites. It is difficult to fix a system that is fundamentally flawed by building on the same rotten foundation. That is, even if there is real political will to reform.

The Global Commission on Elections, Democracy and Security which is headed by Mr. Kofi Annan and which has many distinguished members including H.E Dr Ernesto Zedillo former President of Mexico, Dr Madeleine K. Albright and Professor Amartya Sen, issued a ground-breaking report on clean and fair elections dated September 2012.

In his foreword, Kofi Annan states, “The spread of democracy across the world has been one of the most dramatic changes I have witnessed over the course of my career. In country after country, people have risked their lives to call for free elections, democratic accountability, the rule of law and respect for human rights. Elections are the indispensable root of democracy…..”

I make no apologies for quoting from this report at length for I cannot say it better. The report clearly outlines that clean and fair elections are not just about choosing leaders, but are about building a solid framework for a democracy that works for the people. After studies, the following were some of the conclusions arrived at:

1. “Elections with integrity are important to values that we hold dear — human rights and democratic principles. Elections give life to rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, including freedom of opinion and expression, freedom of peaceful assembly and association, the right to take part in the government of one’s country through freely elected representatives, the right of equal access to public service in one’s country, and the recognition that the authority of government derives from the will of the people, expressed in “genuine periodic elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret ballot.

2. Elections are fundamental to the ethos and principles of democracy…..

3. Citizens lose confidence in democratic processes when elections are not inclusive, transparent, and accountable. When elections have integrity, they bolster democracy, respect fundamental rights, and produce elected officials who are more likely to represent their citizens’ interests.

4. But in addition to promoting democratic values and human rights, elections with integrity can also yield other tangible benefits for citizens. Evidence from around the world suggests that elections with integrity matter for empowering women, fighting corruption, delivering services to the poor, improving governance, and ending civil wars…….

5. Electoral accountability, in turn, is associated with lessening government corruption…….

6. Electoral accountability, in turn, has direct benefits for improving representation of the poor……..

7. Even in countries emerging from civil wars — the most difficult of contexts for building democracy — research now shows that when the termination of the war is accompanied by elections in which former combatants run for office and campaign for votes, countries are less likely to revert to civil war. At the same time, however, other studies note that fraudulent elections are correlated with societal violence and political instability…….”

In an interview after the presentation of the report, Stephen Stedman, director of the Global Commission and a political scientist from Stanford was asked what the motivation was for the report.

In speaking of the chairman Kofi Annan, he said that Annan was “driven by his experience of having to deal with several elections in Africa that had become violent and had gone off the rails. And there is a frustration he feels about how little attention had been paid to those places before they blew up”. (The emphasis is mine)

Let us be clear. Malaysia is not facing the problems or the hopelessness that gave rise to the Arab Spring. We are blessed with an abundance of resources and talent. But to assume that all is well and that there is no need to scrutinise the democratic processes, would be a mistake.

We want change before things do blow up in our faces. We do not want an Arab Spring. We want to choose our leaders in clean and fair elections. If there is to be change, we want to do it through the ballot box.

If the government is willing to overlook, and in fact tacitly support, corruption and abuse of power, and promote racism and religious bigotry for its own ends, how can we trust that the elections will be clean and fair?

There is even an admission of malpractices in the past. A Royal Commission of Inquiry has been set up by the government in the state of Sabah in respect of a large number of foreigners having been given citizenships in exchange for votes for more than 20 years. BERSIH has received reports that this practice continues and even in West Malaysia.

Why is this happening? It is because the party that has been in power for 55 years is now feeling vulnerable. As Aung Sang Suu Kyi has famously said, “It is not power that corrupts but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it.”

So why should one country be bothered about electoral processes in another?

We know that if any such suggestion is made, the immediate diplomatic response is that there will be no interference by one country into such domestic matters of another country. Not that this is entirely true in fact.

As observed of the international community in the commission report “While their rhetorical support for elections with integrity may be constant, their record of responding to flawed elections is not. In some cases, their interest lies in bolstering a preferred candidate, not in an1 election with integrity per se.

Too often, democratic governments have turned a blind eye to electoral malpractice by regimes and incumbents with whom they have friendly relations”.

And the best answer to why everyone should be interested in clean and fair elections everywhere is stated in the report thus:

“We still live in a world in which states act on their strategic interests. The key lies in reminding democratic governments that their strategic interest is best served by supporting elections with integrity. Not only do democratic governments share an interest in the spread of democracy as a bulwark for international peace, but they must also learn that their bilateral relations are strengthened when their partners have democratic legitimacy earned through genuine elections.”

Malaysia is a member of many important regional and international organisations and appears to enjoy the confidence of its neighbours. We can set valuable examples in the region. We have what it takes to be a role model.

But we can only be that if the example we set is one of a truly democratic system of governance borne out of clean and fair elections. And if we are to be valuable contributors to the global community, then it is in everyone’s interests that our elections are clean and fair.

* Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan is co-chair of the Coalition for Free and Fair Elections (BERSIH).

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Regards the 2 articles above. Not a word on apartheid? Perhaps that citizen’s lawsuit will have to go ahead without Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan, Tan Sri Simon Sipaun, Suaram or Suhakam’s presence after all . . . wish the non-connected citizens and non-connected activists luck in honesty reaching the highest powers of the world (and beyond?) to put an end to the APARTHEID OF BUMIPUTRA (and lapdog liar citizens that cannot say the word APARTHEID). The biggest termites at the table are the ones accepting or causing apartheid by keeping silent about apartheid or being threatening about attempts to remove apartheid.

GE13: Should the global community care? GUEST COLUMNISTS Tuesday, 16 October 2012 : All the so-called reforms are like attempting to varnish a table that is ridden with termites. by S Ambiga, FMT

Those in the international community may be forgiven for saying… “is there a problem with the democratic process in Malaysia?”.

Based on the annual reports prepared by Suhakam, Suaram and the US Department of State and information available from newspaper reports, the human rights situation does not appear to be improving in Malaysia. In some ways it has deteriorated especially in respect of political and civil rights.

According to Suaram, the state of human rights in 2011 was worse than in 2010. Twenty-seven people were detained without trial in 2011. The number was 25 in 2010. There were 25 cases of custodial deaths in 2011 compared to 18 in 2010.

Overcrowding in prisons and places of detention continue to persist. In 2010, the country’s 31 prisons held about 38,387 prisoners designed to hold about 32,600. In August 2010, the secretary-general of the Ministry of Home Affairs acknowledged deficiencies in detention centres as well as their failure to meet international standards.

By August 2011 RELA membership reached 2,690,000. There is great concern that they are not suitably trained and experienced to perform their duties in a professional manner often leading to human rights violations of people they are supposed to protect.

Religious freedom concerns

Article 121(1A) of the Federal Constitution, which reads “The courts referred to in clause 1 (i.e. the two High Courts of Malaya and Sabah and Sarawak and the inferior courts provided by federal law) shall have no jurisdiction in respect of any matter within the jurisdiction of the syariah courts.”

The Article does not specify what is within the jurisdiction of the syariah courts. It also does not mention that the syariah courts have been elevated to the same status as the civil High Court. Before Article 121(1A) came into existence the decisions of the syariah courts could be reviewed by the civil High Courts. Problems as experienced now did not arise.

Now we see non-Muslims being left in a situation with no legal remedy. Reference is now being made to Malaysia as an Islamic state but this is not provided for in the constitution. Unusually strict conditions are imposed on building plans for non-Muslim places of worship. More often than not approval takes a long time to be issued.

In Sabah, the approval for the construction of a mazu statue was withdrawn after it was approved by the approving authority and the construction was already in an advanced stage. It was not even a place of worship.

Suhakam reports

Suhakam has now prepared and submitted to Parliament 11 annual reports but so far none has been debated in Parliament. This is indicative of the priority given to the promotion and protection of human rights by the government.

Political rights

During the last three to four years there are indications that people generally are showing greater interest and awareness of their political and civil rights. This being the case, they are now more assertive than ever before in their effort to prevent the authorities from denying them of their rights.

The Bersih 3 rally attracted a multi-racial crowd of about 250,000 people on April 28, 2012. Bersih 3 represents a civil society organisation which promotes clean, free and fair elections. It is therefore most surprising that the government saw it fit to declare it as an illegal organisation. A government which subscribes to and practises good governance would surely support any move towards such noble objectives unless, of course, the survival of the government depends on deceits and cheating during elections.

What Bersih 3 stands for represents universal basic democratic values and attributes. Some on the government side accuse it of being infiltrated by communists without providing hard evidence, identifying them or clarifying their understanding of communists. If communists are bad, why is the government having diplomatic relations with communist countries? Others claim that Bersih 3 is trying to overthrow the democratically elected government by force but again without providing any evidence. In any case, how could it be possible when all they had were water bottles and facing a strong police force armed to the teeth.

A Peaceful Assembly Act was quickly approved by Parliament. Under this Act there is no necessity to obtain police permit prior to holding a peaceful assembly. However it imposes very stringent conditions and as expected the people were very unhappy and showed plenty of reservations. Some of the conditions include street protests being disallowed for non-Malaysians and those below 15 years of age. If you are below 21 years of age you are not allowed to organise a protest.

Electoral roll

As the 13th general election draws near, one of the most important tasks at hand is the spring cleaning of the electoral rolls. This task could be farmed out to a suitably qualified, experienced and independent body. It is common knowledge that the electoral roll is tainted. This has been acknowledged by a High Court judge in the case of the Likas state seat of Datuk Yong Teck Lee. The High Court ordered Yong to vacate his seat, ruling that he won it in 1999 with the help of phantom voters. The judge found out that the 1998 electoral roll for the constituency was illegal and the election held in March 1999 was null and void. The judge further observed that it was just the tip of the iceberg. This prompted Parliament to amend the Election Act, whereby the electoral roll once gazetted cannot be challenged in any court of law. This is not right and bad law.

Ratification of core human rights instruments

To date, Malaysia has not signed and ratified the following core international human rights instruments:

? The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR);

? The International Covenant on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights (ICSECR);

? The Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment;

? The International Convention of the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

Some positive human rights developments

There have been some positive developments. On November 24, 2011 the Emergency Proclamations were revoked. The ISA was repealed. Unfortunately it was replaced by the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 which many feel is just as draconian. Human rights activists feel that the ISA should not have been replaced as there are enough laws available to prosecute all types of offences.

National human rights action plan

Soon after the inception of Suhakam in 2000, it recommended, in 2001, to the government that it should develop and formulate a National Human Rights Action Plan (NHRAP). After more than 10 years the government finally agreed. Such a plan will help to improve and strengthen the promotion and protection of human rights by placing human rights in the proper context of public policy. It is hoped that quick action will be expedited towards the realisation of the NHRAP.

Land rights of indigenous peoples (IP)

Since Suhakam became operational on April 24, 2000 it has been receiving many complaints in the form of letters, memorandum and in persons related to land issues from the Orang Asli and Orang Asal of Sabah and Sarawak. As the problems did not show any indication of being resolved any time soon, Suhakam decided for the first time to hold a national inquiry into the land rights of the IP of Malaysia.

More than 6,500 IP attended the consultation exercise held throughout the country. A total of 892 statements were recorded and 43 public submissions were received. Suhakam in now in the process of finalising the report which includes recommendations to the relevant authorities.

The IP of Sabah and Sarawak continue to be marginalised and experience being displaced from their traditional territories. When the land which they have been living for generations become accessible to modern infrastructure such as roads, water and electricity supply their land naturally become commercially attractive. That is the time when their existence is very threatened. When the original land occupiers apply for the land, more often than not they do not get any response or if they do it will be one of rejection. Very often the same piece of land is alienated to others who have better influence and connection with people in position of authority.

Another category of IP is usually accused by the authorities of encroaching on forest reserves. Some have had their houses burnt by enforcement personnel. Many IP claim they were there before the area was gazetted as forest reserve.

The majority of IP in Sabah and Sarawak still live in the rural areas, mostly surviving as subsistence farmers. It is also in the rural areas where poverty is rampant and access to educational, medical and health facilities is either limited or non-existent.

There is another very important factor which affects Sabah especially, and that is the unusually large population of illegal immigrants who have now outnumbered Malaysians of Sabah origin. They are quickly changing the social, economic, cultural and political landscape of the state. The UNDP and the World Bank have described Sabah as the poorest state in the country and that at least 50 per cent of the total number of poor people in the country are in Sabah. That is the bottom line. No amount of adjectives could cover such sad state of affairs.

* Presented as input by the Association for the Promotion of Human Rights (Proham) to the UN Human Rights and Development Theme Group as NGO input for the UPR process. The report was adopted by Proham members at its meeting held on September 29, 2012

* Tan Sri Simon Sipaun is the chairman of Proham.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

National human rights action plan – Soon after the inception of Suhakam in 2000 . . . this is a joke that never materialised, no point mentioning as if this ‘action’ that never saw anyone taken to task for the Rakyat occured, was something worth listing.

Suhakam and Suaram are the tightest lipped whenever addressing citizen inequality due to Bumiputra.

If Proham was worth anything Proham would have filed a lawsuit against Bumiputra system or for not having signed and ratified the listed core international human rights instruments by now.

This lack of legal perhaps at the UN against Bumiputra action shows that Suhakam, Suaram and Proham, have not been doing their duty as NGOs.

Bersih 3 should not even be mentioned. Shameless apologism for hooliganism of Bersih in this article. We want LAWSUITS against all racist MPs that keep the Bumiputra based 2 citizenship system in in Malaysia and racist political parties as well. Not this support of Bersih cronies that cannot even say ‘apartheid’.

ARTICLE 7

Russian leaders hail local election results – 10-16-2012 11:27 BJT

Early results show Russian President Vladimir Putin’s loyalists sweeping to victory in most local election races across the country.

The Central Election Commission’s results show Kremlin-backed candidates and incumbent governors winning all five races for governors held on Sunday. Putin’s United Russia party also dominates mayoral races and those for local legislatures held in 77 of Russia’s 83 regions.

Putin says the results confirm voters’ intention of supporting the existing authorities. And Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, who is the chairman of the party, also hailed the results.

Dmitry Medvedev said, “Everybody expected a fiasco for the party after the December elections, let’s be honest about it. And this was not because the party did extremely badly then, still everybody kept saying about the downward trend and that the situation is getting out of control. Nothing of this kind took place. Secondly, more parties took part in the elections, but the result is better. This is a fact. This means we are not afraid of democracy. We need it, in order to make our party strong.”

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Whats this? Russia has Local Council Elections but Malaysia under Pakatan which promised but failed to hold Local Council Elections doesn’t?

KUALA LUMPUR: The sentence to be meted out for rape of underage girls (below 16 years) should remain at the discretion of the court, former chief justice Tun Zaki Tun Azmi said on Tuesday.

He said it was inappropriate to set the penalty for the offence as there were several factors, such as the facts of the case, before a sentence could be imposed on an offender.

“In a case of an older man raping an underage girl, he deserves to be given a heavy sentence, which is imprisonment and whipping. There is no question about that.

“But, in a case involving young couples, is the girl not at fault at all?

“I say that both of them are guilty, and is it fair if only the man is penalised?” he asked reporters after a dialogue by the Special Commission To Study Transformation of the Public Service at the Craft Complex here.

In such cases, he said, normally police reports were lodged after the girls’ parents found out.

On the proposal to amend Section 376 of the Penal Code pertaining to penalty for rape of an underage girl, he said a comprehensive study should be conducted to avoid injustice.

He said injustice could also happen in cases involving incest, if only the man was to be punished as there had been cases involving women.

“This matter has to be looked into from a wider aspect. To me, the best solution is to ensure youngsters don’t have sexual relationships until they are married,” he added.

He said this when asked to comment on a statement by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz in the Dewan Rakyat on Monday, that the government had given permission for the Attorney-General’s Chambers to amend Section 376 of the Penal Code to provide for a mandatory jail sentence on those convicted of raping an underage girl. – Bernama

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

I strongly believe that in all instances rape here means ‘statuary rape’ as in ‘sama suka sama’ despite the age. The judge should consider this and the ex-CJ should not fear demogoguery or the coterie of rabid feminists who cannot tell the difference between ‘technicality or ‘word of law’ CONSENSUAL sex *considered* statuary rape and actual non-consensual rape. The calendar based age is hardly a fair manner in which to base a judgment on and is not biological age, and in the case of consensual sex between individuals (regardless of age – AGEISM is as bad as racism, sex between older and younger or young and young persons does not discriminate between calendar age at the heat of the actual biological age moment though the disciplined of mind can certainly resist . . . but what? Society’s bias? Someone is a viable mate biologically though not calendarically?

KUALA LUMPUR: THE Auditor-General said national sewerage company Indah Water Konsortium Sdn Bhd (IWK), had suffered net losses over three consecutive years largely due to its low tariff – which has not been raised since 1994.

IWK accumulated losses of RM888.81mil between 2008 and 2010, which is also partly due to rising operational costs and loss of income due to various decisions by the Federal Government.

Based on its audited financial statements, the company’s revenue was eclipsed by its operational costs in 2008 (RM555.04mil revenue, RM596.34mil operational costs) and 2010 (RM607.14mil revenue, RM669.11mil operational costs).

The company saw its revenue top its operational expenditure in 2009 (RM713.30mil revenue, RM647.07mil operational costs) but still ended up with RM33.11mil in losses after tax that year.

The report pointed out that the company’s revenue took hits from the Government’s 2004 decision to lower the commercial sewerage tariff, and the 2008 implementation of the Water Services Industry Act 2006 which no longer required IWK to handle scheduled management of individual and communal septic tanks.

To ensure its rate is compatible with the current situation, the A-G said the Energy, Green Technology and Water Ministry, Finance Ministry and the National Water Services Commission should support IWK’s application to increase the country’s sewerage tariff.

In response, IWK said it had put forward a proposal to increase the sewerage tariff based on water usage to the ministries concerned and the National Water Services Commission through the Company Business Plan 2009.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Rubbish. How about the Rakyat vote for MPs that will lower all Ministerial salaries and top level bureaucrat pensions to average annual wage levels instead of accepting this suggestion for passing the burden to the Rakyat?

ARTICLE 10

1MCA Micro Credit Loan Scheme for Youth

The details of the framework are as follows:

1. Who can apply?

Malaysian citizen over age 21 to 45 years. The applicant is required to be a member of KOJADI with RM110 initial shares and Membership entrance fees.

2. Purpose of micro credit?

i) For expansion of business.

ii) As start up cost of new business venture.

3. Tenure of the micro credit?

From 1 year to maximum 5 years.

4. What is the loan ceiling?

Maximum of RM20,000.

5. What is the amount of processing fee?

Payment of loan processing fees RM200.00 will be deducted from the approved loan

15.Once a borrower has paid off the loan, can he or she apply for second loan?

Yes.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

While less than bank interest, and safer than some loan sharks, MCA is profiteering still. To be really helpful, the loan interest should match the bank’s interest rate which is no more than 2% for all deposits. That way MCA can say, they are not making anything at all from the loans. And this is per Annum and at compound levels if I’m not mistaken. Not very sincere.

ARTICLE 11

Chang Ming Thien Foundation

When the Foundation officially commenced its operations in 2004,a total of RM 3 million was allocated for the first batch of 240 students for higher education in local and overseas institutions of higher learning. Due to good response, the foundation approved interest-free study loans for 301 students in 2005 totaling RM3.82 million. Each successful applicant was given a loan of RM4,000 per year. They are to repay the loan after 4 months of their graduation for the term of 5 years.

Being an apolitical establishment, the criteria guideline for the loan application of the fund are students from the poor families with good results regardless of race to undertake further studies abroad such as Taiwan, Ukraine, Russia, China, Australia, Singapore, USA, Canada, Indonesia and New Zealand etc.

Eligibility

An applicant shall be a Malaysian citizen of 18 years or above;
An applicant shall have gained admission into a local or overseas institution of higher learning approved and recognized by the Ministry of Higher Education, the National Accreditation Board (LAN), the Public Services Department, or the Foundation to pursue an undergraduate course or above approved by the Foundation; and
The Application shall be supported by relevant documents including proof of financial constraints.

Application

The application shall be made in the form prescribed by the Foundation and subject to its Regulations. The application form and procedures can be obtained from the Foundation’s Secretariat at MCA Headquarters, 9th Floor, Wisma MCA, 163 Jalan Ampang, 50450 Kuala Lumpur. Tel : 03-2161 6517, Fax : 03-2164 4227, E-mail : doris@kojadi.com.my or choonghj@kojadi.com.my.
The duly completed application form together with the requisite documents shall be submitted to the Board Secretariat on or before 15 August 2012.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

3 million only?!? MCA’s top term limitless MPs are worth BILLIONS or hundreds of millions individually and I’ll almost wager at least the top 30% of MCA wealthiest drink at least 3 million in fine wines or liquor yearly, and food every year or travel or support mistresses at that sort of expenditure! How many bottles of Hennesy or Louis 13 do MCA members buy in total? More than 3 million per annum for sure! Meanwhile MCA does not make a sound about apartheid! Cynical levels of ‘investment’. Thats barely 800 4K loans MCA expects to give out to the millions of Chinese citizens! You’d think a foundation that featured so strongly on MCA’s website would at least be 300 million. Guess what? Koon Yew Yin a single individual under the ‘KOON YEW YIN SCHOLARSHIP’ has set aside 30 million for loans! And this mere 3 million needs a board of trustees? Horrendous! In the same breath though, Koon, has also been equally ‘delicate’ about addressing apartheid in any honest fashion.

Perhaps us third forcer activists of far less means would make a deeper impression on ending apartheid in Malaysia than these gret personalities with so much cash but so incapable of ending apartheid . . . Guess what, 30 million behind a certain activist individual’s access would easily topple all so-called selfish term limitless Chinese MPs via a simple plan of proxy candidates to end apartheid most courageously as opposed to this tiptoeing around by MCA and DAP via 3rd Force. Koon what say you to this 3rd Force plan? Have the age, the ethos, the charisma and respect but dare not move? Cynical again if so!

Now back to trying to shut out the uncouth loud mouth voices of the idiot P** 8007 neighbours who seem unhealthily interested in the toilet habits and sleeping habits of those around them (. . . no . . . no . . . good girl/b1tch . . . hoo hoo ha ha . . . cackle snark . . . shrieking children . . . ) on cue no less, probably have a hidden cam somewhere trained on my backyard, perhaps a nice lawsuit for being rowdies . . . Under BN-UMNO’s pro-apartheid employ? Traitors to UN Human Rights principles then who need to be done away with . . . ) idiot 3rd worlders in high density neighbourhoods need to get a life and learn to shut up so that a semblance of civilisation can at least dignify the bastardy of some neighbourhoods.

“The tort of nuisance, for example, involves strict liability for a neighbor who interferes with another’s enjoyment of his real property.” 8007’s loudmouths are interfering.

“Trespass allows owners to sue for entrances by a person (or his structure, such as an overhanging building) on their land.”

There was a fat b1tch neighbour with a child who entered illegally someone’s home if I recall . . .

Seen some of the dog attack cases? Word . . . maybe if we’re lucky, the ground will open up and swallow up these sorts (we can’t count on packs of wild animals now can we? Maybe pigeons could flash mob like Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘Birds’ or Noodle’s Afredo’s ‘Rats’ (undated) along with the racists and term limitless politicians or even NGOs and that never address the Apartheid of Bumiputra.

That or a landslide puts an end to the noise and stupidity, doesn’t take a ‘tolerant Karadzic’ (aka the ‘Beast of Bosnia’ . . . Rabban Harkonnen anyone?) to understand why defense against genocide takes on the nature of genocide.

Scum does not deserve a place in society but the fiat system and fractitious educational, political and enforcement system has made it possible for hooting/hollering mob-minded pariahs and cavemen to climb over the heads of their intellectual, ethical and civilisational superiors . . . now back to some hobbies and later fapping to some fav/b porn, then planning for 3rd Force to toppple oppressive governmennts while the cynical farts of extreme wealth and reputation dance shamelessly around the Bumiputra Apartheid issue and Malaysia’s lack of (despite BN’s mandate and ability to immediately grant but doesn’t) :

Spiritual Petititon Against Removal of Incandescent Bulbs (Amongst Other Things Like ‘Bell’ Phones and Non-Electronic Engines In Cars)

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Guess what, the 1% will be the only ones to have their own last incandescent bulbs in the world (probably from private manufacturing technologies) while no one else can have any to sequester spirits by a theory. The warm light of incandescents are attractive to certain spirit portions of a human being’s spirits under a certain theory called “Ghost in the Machine”, and these will congregate at the last places on Earth with incandescents, or at least spirits to iunhabit any machines or AI. Do not vote for the MPs who ratify the bill and consider those who support ending of incandescents very evil people who want to bar access to certain applications of incandescents (candles and oil lamps are superior but not durable on long distance or rough applications).

Continuation of GITM/GITS theory : These spirits are borne by the third gender hermaphrodites IMHO who produce spirit progeny that some governments now breed via a form of psychic rape and insertion of the bodiless spirits into cehicles phones and other technology that grant longevity. That is also another reason for complex nuclear weapon or complex missile stockpiles that may never be used. The spirits of humanity (which are self replicating in the 3rd gender effectively) are tied to these machines and weapons which will be dismantled, and when the original human owner dies, the machines/weapons will sequester the eternal soul of that human (fully formed or not) for all eternity if properly maintained, and this is a form of SPIRITUAL IMPRISONMENT which physical prisons inculpate into humans while they are living. Sinister but SPIRITUAL ENSLAVEMENT is going on these days.

That is why the violent and poor dispositions of the spiritually weaker citizens, the disruptive and destructive policies of politicians who hate society (they may smile but their hearts are evil by the policy they write, the high fines, the refusal to redistribute unused state land to the homeless, the abuse of by-laws that impinge on sovereign rights of landowners, leasing rather than selling land, refusing to share the wealth of the nation equitably but enriching only a handful of cronies even though that wealth belongs to all citizens, being term limitless and killing democracy to become Satraps and Feudal rather than stepping down in 2 terms, even refusing to introduce term limits to MP’s or Assemblyman’s seats – the PM or President’s seat is usually term limited in most nations but MPs and Senators and Givernors form a severe barrier to political power and hence wealth distribution . . . is a sign of an evil and power mad souls that need to be ‘Gaddafied’ and ‘Mubarak-ed’ or ‘Ben-Ali-ed’ etc..) because society has taken their ‘soul’, the binge drinking, the taking of drugs to alter consciousness of the lower classes are thus more attempts to recall lost souls that crass matter has swallowed up via consumerism due to social conditioning. Spirituality lowered into material things, especially offensive are technology that in many ways are a mockery of organic and sentient life that I strongly believe Christians are fond of binding into! Governments and religions which prohibit drugs or alcohol are harvesting the citizens’ souls and need to be removed.

How do we identify these governments or MPs or Governers at a glance?

Just look for the MPs, Governors who refuse to distribute unused state land, or ratify Allodial titles or introduce Term Limits, and you will find your Imprisoners of Souls . . . because by denying access to living space and food security via refusal to amend wealth and land distribution laws, they drive the souls of citizens to gross matter (and disruptive behaviour) instead. Those who ratify the bill intend to oppress the people spiritually if not, are inadvertently on the wrong side. This level of consciousness of souls I speak of is very rare from life experience in studying the science of politics and then APPLYING what I learnt . . . and those who do know the spiritual theory behind the logic of this supposedly energy saving action, will never vote for any MP or Governor who ratify this, rather than ratify distribution of land under Allodial titles or ending fiat.

What is to stop people from powering their own incandescent bulbs via solar power or independent source? Don’t use the energy saving nonsense as an excuse especially for those who use independent sources to power such bulbs. This is a form of psychic oppression that perhaps Electronic White Zones and ending of all prohibitions on any and all activities or any and all objects like incandescents or even older technologies like 286 or earlier computers (which can be produced . . . I think my 586’s soul was stolen by a local computer repair shop if not lost somehow, probably will recall that particular soul when repaired, but that will be a lost skill by the time some of us learn of what is going on in society – then considering the convoluted paths such souls take, for sure, do expect a destructive Earthquake or Solar Flare when the wrongfully lost ones are reunited with the rightful owners . . . but I digress, so back to the subject.

Remember to never vote for politicians ready to ratify ending of incandescents ever again! Do however demand that your MP or Governor, Congressman, Assebmblyman sign statuary declarations for ratifications of Allodial Titles, removal of Eminent Domain and to redistribute national wealth like minerals, oil or platations on penalty of vacating the political seat. Get the Judiciary to hold these statuary declarations as weapons to ensure equitable resource distribution. The whole country belongs to everyone not a handful of cronies – so long as there are poor people around, there is no tolerance for ANY GLC linked or bureaucrat or Cabinet multi-millionaires and billionaires. Do not presume that a plutocrat politician works harder than the menials or 99%ters. ‘Trickle down’ doesn’t work. Entire portions of the populace are disenfranchised by term limitless politicians who have sat in power for decades that will not and have never ratified unused state land distribution. Vote anyone who has sat in any seat for more than 2 terms out. That way they will try to make a difference, not try to prolong the voters’ effective financial support of these parasites who willingly introduce VAT and GST or raise fines, but never distribute unused state land or the mineral or plantation wealth of the nation.

As for lightbulbs, circadian rhythm disruption is primarily caused by the wrong timing of light in reference to the circadian phase. It can also be affected by too much light, too little light, or incorrect spectral composition of light. This effect is driven by stimulus (or lack of stimulus) to photosensitive ganglion cells in the retina. The “time of day”, the circadian phase, is signalled to the pineal gland, the body’s photometer, by the suprachiasmatic nucleus. Bright light in the evening or in the early morning or certain types of light (non-incandescent unrecognisable as light) shifts the phase of the production of melatonin (see phase response curve). An out-of-sync melatonin rhythm can worsen cardiac arrhythmias and increase oxidized lipids in the ischemic heart. Melatonin also reduces superoxide production and myeloperoxide (an enzyme in neutrophils which produces hypochlorous acid) during ischemia-reperfusion. Guess what effects on the ether this has? Boom . . .

Najib said people have taken the country’s adoption of the Chinese education system for granted. — File pic
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 17 ― The Chinese community should embrace Bahasa Malaysia as it is the country’s national language, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said this morning.

Speaking on Mandarin radio channel Melody FM, Najib also reassured listeners that Chinese education will be part of the exercise to improve quality of education under the National Education Blueprint.

Responding to demands by pressure group Dong Zong, the United Chinese School Committees Association, the premier reminded listeners that Malaysia has always recognised Chinese schools.

“We are the only country outside China which has Chinese education as part of the national system. We have recognised Chinese education in Malaysia, and I think that is of huge, great significance.

“Please see that in that context, in that perspective, that we have recognised Chinese education as part of the national system,” he said.

Najib also added, “I believe we don’t have any kind of stigma. My own son, Ashman, speaks fluent Mandarin.

“I believe it is good for the Malays to learn Mandarin just as it is important for Malaysian Chinese to be fluent in Bahasa (Malaysia) as Bahasa, of course, is our national language.”

He also revealed that the Cabinet is looking into implementing an eight-point plan to address the shortage of teachers for Chinese vernacular schools, drawn from roundtable meetings involving various stakeholders including Dong Zong.

The implementation will be overseen by one of the two deputy ministers from the Education Ministry.

The group accused the Education Ministry earlier this year of “deliberately” creating a dearth of trained Mandarin-speaking teachers as part of a larger conspiracy to re-engineer the identities of vernacular schools.

Dong Zong had last month submitted a memorandum on the matter to the prime minister.

Minister in Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz later stated that the demands were reasonable, but this view was dismissed by Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin as “a personal one”.

In today’s talk show, Najib also revealed that the neighbourhood night patrols announced in Budget 2013 will be launched early this December.

Replying to a caller, the prime minister clarified that 1,000 police officers on motorcycles will be patrolling in pairs in select neighbourhoods, and that RM20 million was allocated for the programme.

During the #TanyaNajib event on YouTube earlier this month, Najib also told viewers that he was excited for the crime-fighting initiative as it was his idea.

Later in the radio programme, Najib, who is also finance minister, reiterated that only 1.7 million Malaysians out of 12 million workers were paying income tax.

In Budget 2013, Najib announced a 1 per cent tax cut for workers with taxable incomes of between RM2,500 and RM50,000. Analysts see the move as paving the way for the goods and services tax (GST) that the Najib administration has been weighing but was forced to delay due to fears of voter backlash.

Najib also insisted that middle class Malaysians do reap indirect benefits from government policies, through subsidies such as for RON95 petrol.

“Although we pay slightly more (for car purchases) initially, but because of the large amount of subsidies, you end up paying much less than your counterpart after five years of use,” he

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

i) Speak Malay, PM tells Chinese community

Be happy to. But first grant equality in citizenships via the below 3 items :

;and do remember that as per UN and worldwide legal rights of all groups, the right to not speak any language is a right of all citizens of the world. Just because a citizen happens to be staying in a certain geological/cultural/linguistic region does not mean that they have to speak any language or accept less than equal citizenships for being ethinically different or having a different faith or no faith at all. I think BN is going to lose the GE13 election given PM Najib’s refusal to endorse universal human rights values or admitting that the Apartheid of Bumiputra is very wrongful and illegal and instead telling the already oppressed second class citizenship afflicted minorities to ‘speak Malay’. People will speak Malay out of love of the language and the treatment they receive as citizens, not because a PM says to ‘speak Malay’. The minorities instead tell the PM to ‘End the Apartheid of Bumiputra’.

ii) The group accused the Education Ministry earlier this year of “deliberately” creating a dearth of trained Mandarin-speaking teachers as part of a larger conspiracy to re-engineer the identities of vernacular schools.

No smoke without fire. And there is a ver big fire in the form of Bumiputra Apartheid.

iii) In Budget 2013, Najib announced a 1 per cent tax cut for workers with taxable incomes of between RM2,500 and RM50,000. Analysts see the move as paving the way for the goods and services tax (GST) that the Najib administration has been weighing but was forced to delay due to fears of voter backlash.

Make moi PM and see a 50% cut in taxes to the same group, as well as a 50% cut in all Minister, MP and assemblyman salaries.

iv) Najib also insisted that middle class Malaysians do reap indirect benefits from government policies, through subsidies such as for RON95 petrol.

RON95 fuel may be cheaper, but the amount of wealth that goes to the 99% of citizens is 1% of the fuel revenues. Just look at the wealth of the 1% of the population who are Oil related Ministers and Bureaucrats, or people working in oil companies as opposed to 99% of the Rakyat. I’d say Najib is not being honest at all in approaching the Rakyat with obviously skewed ‘feel good’ facts. I guess GE13 should be won by 3rd Force or Pakatan Rakyat (equally bad as BN but at least not entrenched – the Rakyat must prepare to kick out the nepotists and term limitless or fundos immediately or another BN-UMNO will arise by the time Pakatan consolidates power . . . ) if 3rd Force fails to organize in time.

v) In Budget 2013, Najib announced a 1 per cent tax cut for workers with taxable incomes of between RM2,500 and RM50,000.

1%? What kind of joke is this? The bank GIVES depositors 2% interest! Is the government worse than a bank now, chettiar par exellence? Make moi PM and see a 50% cut in taxes to the same group, as well as a 50% cut in all Minister, MP and assemblyman salaries or to the level of National Average Annual Wage.

As for Malaysia being the only country outside China that recognises Chinese education, this ‘recogntion’ is due to the Apartheid of Bumiputra and the extreme racism by certain factions of the Muslim Malays against Chinese that necessitated ‘Chinese education’. This is a mark of shame for Malaysia not something to be proud of ‘Najib’. Perhaps President Hu Jintao of the PRC and the UN needs to make some things very clear to PM Najib about equality and fair treatment of citizens or at least about honesty in making statements. Whats the value of being a racist against races that are destined to rule the world? Might as well make peace by granting the above 3 items now than suffer millenia of extraction of debt at interest? The Chinese community demands equality, nothing more. If Najib does not understand this, GE13 will be lost and another PM would have failed the Malay people in dignifying the Malay people by treating all humans as equals and not afflicting with apartheid on the good citizens of different ethnicity and different faith out of fear and jealousy or simply out of what previous racist UMNO leaders (barring a failed Tun Hussein Onn PM from 1976 to 1981 who almost secularized Malaysia – Turkish style) did. The apartheid via Islam, and ethnicity racism problem extends to East Malaysia as well :

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 18 — Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin was put on the defensive on the issue of race at a forum last night but deflected some criticism by acknowledging that race-based politics could hurt the country.

Khairy said in a response to questions about 1 Malaysia, which aimed to strengthen unity among the different ethnic groups in the country, that there was no conflict in having Malaysians adopt several identities but that a Malaysian identity should be the ultimate goal.

“If you put a gun to my head, I will answer I am Malaysian first,” he said at a forum on economic development organised by the Chevening Alumni of Malaysia here. “That is the aspiration.”

He also said in response to another question whether racial baggage will drag Malaysia down that Malaysia was “crying out” for a true multi-racial party.

“The more entrenched ethnic parties are in politics, the more ethnicity will figure in policy making,” he said.

Khairy added that while parties that are based on policies and ideologies were the way forward, the current dominance of race-based parties could reflect Malaysian society.

“It could also be how society looks at themselves,” he said.

Khairy found common ground on some racial issues with DAP lawmaker Tony Pua, who was also at the forum, and crossed swords on others.

The audience in rapt attention as Khairy delivers his talk at the forum on October 17, 2012.
Pua had said that government assistance should be based on need and not race as it mainly benefited the elite of the privileged race and led to the brain drain of those who felt discriminated against.

He also pointed out that the gap between the rich and poor was highest within the Bumiputera community as the Malay elites grew wealthy on government assistance.

“We must get out of the mindset of providing help based on race,” he said. “The more you define policies based on race, those who benefit are the elites who are in the best positioned to exploit the policies.”

Khairy said however that while he agreed that poverty eradication should be based on need, he saw a “gray area” where government assistance was required to nurture a Bumiputera business community.

“It’s about restructuring society,” said Khairy.

He added that he was against non-deserving Bumiputeras getting loans and contracts.

“When you talk about there being no non-Malay secretaries-general in the government, you’d also be hard pressed to find a Malay CEO of a non-Malay company,” he said. “There are silos and divisions in society.”

Socialist Party of Malaysia (PSM) MP Dr Jeyakumar Devaraj, who was also a speaker at the forum, said that the previous tactics of pitting non-Malays against Malays over economic issues will no longer work.

He noted that the government, which is controlled by Umno, was in charge of not only the federal budget but also GLCs (government-linked companies) which when combined accounted for between 60-65 per cent of the country’s GDP.

“Sixty to 65 per cent of Malaysia’s economy is controlled by the Malay elite,” said Jeyakumar. “The Malays in the kampungs are not stupid. They know it’s about bad governance and not about non-Malays.”

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Too little too late and the content of the discussion assures that racism appears very much alive in this character’s intent. All about political survival only? Meaningless person.

“If you put a gun to my head, I will answer I am Malaysian first,” he said at a forum on economic development organised by the Chevening Alumni of Malaysia here. “That is the aspiration.” Begone from the presence of the pure among us! Such foul intent in simple words. Why mention ‘gun’ at all?

*I* as minority people living here in Malaysia, are WORLD CITIZENS *NOT* Malaysians. Eventually world government will be formed if abuses as in Malaysia are a sign of what individual nation states promise to inflict on sovereign citizens. First will form EUs, ASEANs, AUs, then eventually when all the differences between people and cultures and religions have been given their own spaces and bridges or taboos or necessary silos created to ensure uniquness and diversity are done, the word ‘Malaysian’ will eventually disappear.

We are ALL ETHNIC minorities until the below 3 items are granted. The Malays are an ethnic minority in the context of the world. Small minded micro-view KJ can be a Malaysian under a Malay tempurong of selfish hatred and refusal to admit wrongs and harm done to many. The macro view citizens will never subscribe to being ‘merely’ Malaysian. Why not identify with the biggest and most powerful nation? Conversely, if small or weak nations are not petty minded, some measure of ‘Malaysian’ will survive. Do not subvert true aspirations with LIES.

Perhaps Malaysia will not even exist by 2020 or as soon as possible the next war in Asia – *that* may well be the aspiration for such an insulting, presumptuous and indirect address of minorities. ‘Malaysia first’ IS *NOT AND NEVER WILL BE* the aspiration. Unoriginal, and selfish being an aspiration is nonsense for all but racists and extreme Muslims. Malaysia will be LAST aspiration (if the sea levels do not swallow up the miserable place) if some term limitless beneficiary of nepotism people presume to speak for others. The ones with the right, will write a script that a certain racist kris bearer *bumiputra* who has not apologized to the minority communities to suffer for such presumption . . . Gun to who’s head? Is someome threatening violence against what the UN and brotherhood of nations agreed on after WW2? EQUALITY OF MAN.

The small minded fool children of thieves of the Rakyat’s monies, of thieves of the Rakyat’s stolen contracts and stolen business opportunities, the givers of lost Oil blocs who now dare threaten HUMAN EQUALITY and subvert high minded aspirations to equality with lame apartheid form Malaysian-ness? The arrogant, the proud and the haughty the abusive while in power . . . will not and do not deserve to address the worthy minded among Rakyat who abhor apartheid and nepotism or crony contracts (which Khairy is famous for, and worryingly now Tony Pua who is cosying up to Khairy alot but not mentioning ending APARTHEID of BUMIPUTRA). Article 1 of the UN Human Rights Charter will not tolerate any metaphorical or real guns against any metaphorical or real head (either and both heads for the guys) and definitely *NOT* any aspiration that puts a broken political junta politician run country as Malaysia currently is or Malaysians first. 2 terms over so GTFO of the Dewan, shameless beneficiary of nepotism! The 3 items listed below are the ONLY ASPIRATION at this human level (to the Muslims Dunia’) for now at least :

The most democratic and powerful countries will be forever the FIRST. The apartheid countries, fundo countries, thieves and liars and enemies of the above true aspirations will be the very LAST. Fools who stand in the path of the righteous and the strong will be destroyed across all times and realities . . . Since Khairy Jamaluddin is supposed to be a Muslim, enter that mosque the next time, with the dirt of Bumiputra Apartheid in the ether of lies and ill intent to the Rakyat and to the great among us working for a better (free tertiary education world) and hopefully whatever God resides there will see fit to correct this term limitless farce.

Since Khairy Jamaluddin is supposed to be a Muslim, let God (or Allah) be reminded to send Khairy Jamaluddin to the nineteen angels of Jahannam, aka Neraka at Neraka . . . along with all the evil souls in Malaysia who refuse to grant the above 3 items. Hellfires burn forever do they not? Retaliate on the physical plane with a gun threat thoughtless barbarian . . . 2 terms over GTFO of the Dewan, shameless beneficiary of nepotism! The other citizens especially non-racist Malays (I fairly must defer to correctly 3 item aspired Malays as having more right to be MP ahead of all minoriy races) who would prefer to aspire to the above 3 items rather than a vague meaningless Khairy Jamaluddin’s being ‘Malaysian with a gun to their head’ deserve to head Rembau’s MPship! The Jamalluddins have sequestered enough wealth to last 100 generations and given away 1000 times of the Rakyat’s National Oil Wealth in Oil Blocs just recently, GTFO of Dewan and enjoy what wealth of the Rakyat that will eventually be reclaimed by the poor ‘Malaysians’! If article is considered actionable, please warn, I will remove if requested. Crypto-racism is the same as intent to cause a Holocaust, and sitting with a Chinese lapdog from an opposition party who dares not declare assets is not the same as denouncing apartheid.

FALSELY ACCUSED- Former grassroots leader claims personal attacks drove him to quit the party

KAJANG: A former DAP grassroots leader yesterday claimed that he was a victim of the party’s unjust and corrupt practices, which led to his disillusionment and subsequent withdrawal from DAP in 2011.

Former DAP Damai Perdana branch chairman Tan Han Kuo said in 2009, he was falsely accused of exposing alleged irregularities over transactions involving a DAP local government councillor and the party.

“The reason I quit DAP was due to a run-in involving myself, (Kajang councillor) Lee Kee Hiong and her uncle, Lee Wye Wing.

“Three years ago, Kee Hiong accused me of leaking information about her uncle getting state government contracts.

“But I did not have any knowledge about it,” he said here on Tuesday.

Tan said Kee Hiong, who was previously DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang’s personal aide, had subsequently mounted personal attacks on him by calling party meetings to condemn Tan and accusing him of fabricating rumours.

“However, on Aug 30, 2010, online news portal Selangor Daily eventually published a story which implicated her in the alleged wrongdoing.

“Also, the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the death of Teoh Beng Hock in June last year revealed that Wye Ying had in fact received such contracts.”

Teoh was the political aide of DAP’s Seri Kembangan assemblyman Ean Yong Hian Wah who was taken into the custody of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission on July 15, 2009 for questioning about allegations of corruption. However, was found dead the next morning on the rooftop of a building adjacent to the MACC offices.

Tan said following the expose, he had decided to resign from all party positions in protest over Kee Hiong’s “unscrupulous defamation” attempts against him.

He also expressed deep disappointment in the DAP disciplinary committee for not acting against Kee Hiong.

“To rub salt into the wound, Kee Hiong was appointed DAP Selangor committee member in 2010 despite losing badly during that year’s state party election.

“The appointment was made against the will of the state party members and it was completely against the spirit of democracy.”

He recounted that last year, Kee Hiong had renewed her attacks by accusing him of receiving “a few hundred thousand ringgit” from the MCA to gather and divulge DAP’s secrets.

“I had immediately lodged a complaint with the DAP disciplinary committee to clear my name, but I was summarily ignored,” he added.

“I was very disappointed with the unjust and corrupt practices of DAP, so I chose to leave the party entirely later that year.”

Tan’s account of his experience in DAP comes after another former DAP grassroots leader, Tan Tuan Tat, left the party in August, declaring that “democracy is dead in the party”.

– New Straits Times

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

MPs of Penang (yes even the term limitless who should be removed – feedback is important but don’t imagine the Rakyat will tolerate any MP more than 2 terms from hereon – EDUCATION thanks to moi has made the term limitless political junta glaringly obvious for the harm they cause . . . ), how about a ‘shadow vote’ of no confidence on who should be CM from ALL MPs and Assemblymen? For certain Lim Guan Eng won’t even be anywhere on the list of nominees. Vote properly Rakyat! 2 terms only and always remember, democracy is the only thing that will protect your tax funds from ending up in a 750K funeral for beneficiaries of nepotism who think they can stay for more than 2 terms as CM. See what happend to Koh Tsu Koon? Too many terms and any politician becomes a target for racist among racist Muslims and corruptors among GLC false-plutocrats.

Heres another KTK in the form of LGE who will sellout all minorities just to sit on the CM’s seat as long as the quorumless or MP/Assemblyman un-voted creep can. Vote for 3rd Force and only tolerate 2 term CMs and 2 term MPs and 2 term assemblymen. meanwhile lets see if that ‘shadow vote’ of no-confidence (which could become official) can remove that cowardly beneficiary of nepotism who takes away the thunder of NGOs by blabbing about AES. Shameless, point scoring and unjust! Witness the Qlippoth (no not Quidditch, QLIPPOTH) cast off remnant of bad understanding of politics, and denounce this cowardly beneficiary of nepotism for REAL statemen who will address the 3 items above AND GTFO of Dewan after 2 terms!

ARTICLE 15

AES concession holders stand to gain RM700m a year from traffic summons – October 14, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 14 — A controversial enforcement system introduced last month aimed at cutting down traffic offences has raised eyebrows over the huge profits, an estimated RM700 million a year, the two companies who won the coveted government concession will gain from the pool of settled summons.

ATES Sdn Bhd and Beta Tegap Sdn Bhd, which won recently the contract for the Automated Enforcement System (AES), have also come under fire for claiming between RM600 million and RM800 million as cost to install 831 cameras in traffic hotspots nationwide.

“Does it cost RM600-800 million as claimed by both companies to install the 831 cameras which would cost RM722,000-RM962,000 per camera?” DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng asked in a statement today.

He noted that the project was opposed when it was mooted nearly a decade ago due to the perception of unfair largesse to the concession holders through a three-tiered system paid out from a pool of settled summons.

Lim, a trained accountant who is also Penang chief minister, noted that the companies will gain RM16 for each of the first five million summons paid by traffic offenders in the first tier, resulting in a sum of RM80 million.

The two companies stand to gain up to RM270 million for the second tier, which awards them half of the revenue collected; and 7.5 per cent of the remaining revenue under tier 3, he said.

He had based his calculations on a fine of RM300 imposed on 170 million summons issued in one year, adopting the figures from recent news reports for the first eight days after the AES was launched on September 23.

English daily New Straits Times had reported that 63,558 traffic offences were captured on the AES within those eight days.

The Bagan MP demanded the Transport Ministry fully disclose if the government held an open tender for the concession before handing them out.

“Unless such issues are fully addressed, Malaysian motorists have a right to be angry that cronies of BN have once again benefited fully at the expense of ordinary Malaysians,” he said.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

This is something for CAP or a transparency watching NGO to handle, not a CM who was not even voted for at 51% quorum among all state MPs that has already used up 1.5 terms. A CM who was voted for however should be addressing Malaysia’s lack of :

;point scoring is the most un-statesmanlike and detestable type of politician, especially when a CM takes the role of a mere NGO but dares not challenge apartheid. This challenge of the AES by this beneficiary of nepotism is not a display of courage or consideration for the Rakyat, this is cowardice and point scoring to pretend to be active while too afrraid to challenge apartheid. A CM who was placed by their own father and through the ignorance of the local state MPs and Assemblymen of DEMOCRACY (1 man 1 vote style at 13 MPs + 40 assemblymen means 53 votes . . . THIS IS NOT true democracy though, but at 1.5 million Penang voters would be, this 53 vote thing is ONLY Representative Democracy) and 51% quorums for a right to be CM is no leader at all. Little wonder the cowardice, from having no moral or ethical much less popular right to be CM. Christians and their papacy minded, cult of personality oriented politics make the worst MPs.

ARTICLE 16

Penang to crack down on smoking next year – by Oppailyn Mok – October 19, 2012

Lighting up in the wrong area of Penang next year could set you back by up to RM10,000. — Reuters pic
GEORGE TOWN, Oct 19 ? Six zones in Penang have been gazetted as non-smoking areas and those who flout the regulation will be slapped with a fine or jail time starting next year.

State executive councillor for health, welfare, caring society and environment Phee Boon Poh said the city council together with the Health Department will adopt a soft enforcement approach this year.

“We will start by educating the public that these zones are now non-smoking zones by putting up banners and giving smokers warning if caught smoking in these places,” he said.

By next year, smokers caught lighting up in any of the designated zones will face a fine of up to RM10,000 or two years’ jail.

He also said ferries will also be made non-smoking areas due to safety concerns.

“In some ferries, passengers are given a smoking corner on the upper deck but there must be absolutely no smoking on the lower deck due to safety concerns,” he said.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

More DAP rubbish much like the Gambier Threat.

The fine of 10,000 is excessive and hence unconstitutional. People! Let us kick out the DAP and vote in 3rd force. I propose that 3rd force will only fine 1% of the salary or 1% of National Average monthly wage. That should be RM10.00 for a RM1000.00 earner. Very much more fair than profiteering off the Rakyat via fines. Lets prevent Phee Boon Poh and the DAP crony intalled (rather than via Local Council Election voted for) city council’s greed by fining them all the way out from Penang!

Lets kick out DAP! BN what say you to this format for fining? Want to implement ahead of Pakatan? Otherwise 3rd Force will do the same! Same thing with traffic offences too! 1% for minor offences, 3% for more serious stuff, ALL BASED ON SALARY. The bank only gives 2% in interest for deposits so why the hell should the Rakyat pay RM10,000 for such a minor issue as smoking, for by-laws they did not even approve or take part in writing? Stop voting for DAP! Lets vote 3rd Force instead! SMOKING citizens will crack down on DAP next year!

Smoking lightly in the open is a luxury that too many are missing. take up the hobby and understand that smoking does not mean obsessive waste or choking the air ALL THE TIME, but relaxing with the element of Fire during suitable times, much like a mini-firework even as fireworks already are banned as well by oppressive governments. Democracy is in the spirit of fining methods as proposed here, NOT DAP’s RM10,000 for a cigarette b.s.. If this is LKS being psychotic about Robocop II‘s (Irvin Kershner 1990) anti-smoking scene, just imagine the Hudud minded Christian fundamentalism the nepotistic and term limitless creep has in store for Malaysians . . . Vote for 3rd Force!

ARTICLE 17

A Consideration of Civil Suit Against the Federal Government of Malaysia (Any QC or Legal Eagle want to take up this cause, please contact this site, Legal beagles can go bury their heads in inactive and silent Malaysian Bar Council’s !@#$%^& . . . )

A tort, in common law jurisdictions, is a civil wrong.[1] Tort law deals with situations where a person’s behaviour has unfairly caused someone else to suffer loss or harm. A tort is not necessarily an illegal act but causes harm. The law allows anyone who is harmed to recover their loss. Tort law is different from criminal law, which deals with situations where a person’s actions cause harm to society in general. A claim in tort may be brought by anyone who has suffered loss after suing a civil law suit. Criminal cases tend to be brought by the state, although private prosecutions are possible.

Tort law is also differentiated from equity, in which a petitioner complains of a violation of some right. One who commits a tortious act is called a tortfeasor. The equivalent of tort in civil law jurisdictions is delict. Tort may be defined as a personal injury; or as “a civil action other than a breach of contract.”[2]

A person who suffers a tortious injury is entitled to receive compensation for “damages”, usually monetary, from the person or people responsible — or liable — for those injuries. Tort law defines what is a legal injury and, therefore, whether a person may be held liable for an injury they have caused. Legal injuries are not limited to physical injuries. They may also include emotional, economic, or reputational injuries as well as violations of privacy, property, or constitutional rights. Tort cases therefore comprise such varied topics as auto accidents, false imprisonment, defamation, product liability (for defective consumer products), copyright infringement, and environmental pollution (toxic torts), among many others.

In much of the common law world, the most prominent tort liability is negligence. If the injured party can prove that the person believed to have caused the injury acted negligently – that is, without taking reasonable care to avoid injuring others – tort law will allow compensation.

However, tort law also recognizes intentional torts, where a person has intentionally acted in a way that harms another, and “strict liability” or quasi-tort, which allows recovery under certain circumstances without the need to demonstrate negligence.

ii) Tort law is also differentiated from equity, in which a petitioner complains of a violation of some right.

Bumiputra Apartheid violates UN Article 1 Rights.

iii) A person who suffers a tortious injury is entitled to receive compensation for “damages”, usually monetary, from the person or people responsible — or liable — for those injuries. Tort law defines what is a legal injury and, therefore, whether a person may be held liable for an injury they have caused.

The entire non-Muslim, and non-Malay community including Orang Asli is entitled to receive compensation for damages, preferably out of the pockets of the plutocrat billionaires who are racists or who have benefited from racism.

All of the above have been inflicted various government agencies under BN oversight.

v) In much of the common law world, the most prominent tort liability is negligence. If the injured party can prove that the person believed to have caused the injury acted negligently – that is, without taking reasonable care to avoid injuring others – tort law will allow compensation.

;have caused the non-Muslim and non-Malay minorities injuries from negligence to ensure the 3 above items were granted as per the Reid Commission after the 15th year of Malay Special Privileges ending in the 1970s.

vi) If the injured party can prove that the person believed to have caused the injury acted negligently – that is, without taking reasonable care to avoid injuring others – tort law will allow compensation.

All complicit political parties and NGOs even the Bar Council have caused the injury of APARTHEID and acted negligently by inaction or tacit approval via silence and refusal to help citizens in need of equality.

vii) . . . tort law also recognizes intentional torts, where a person has intentionally acted in a way that harms another, and “strict liability” or quasi-tort, which allows recovery under certain circumstances without the need to demonstrate negligence.

All complicit ‘silent’ (Capitol Hill? Silent Hill?) political parties and NGOs even the Bar Council have caused by inaction or tacit approval via silence and refusal to help citizens in need of equality, caused the injury of APARTHEID and acted negligently and deserve to be among the defendents.

Well citizens and legal eagles (no legal beagles please, ‘Legal Junta Toad‘ has been holed up so quietly in that Bar Council Office there might as well be no Bar Council at all, Snoopy (also the weed policy promotionary cautious one) is useless here, we need lions and not the false ones from Jelutong that cannot say the word ‘Apartheid’ and ‘Bumiputra’ in the same sentence despite Parliamentary immunity . . . ) want to put together a UN level lawsuit based on the material posted here on this blog?

Otherwise an unknown blogger will feel inclined to steal the thunder from NGOs and political parties who preferred to parasite off fellow citizens for dirty wealth and childishly meaningless media spotlight than End the Apartheid of Bumiputra.

John Hennigan, of Harlow, Essex, made gesture at London pub in February
It put him in breach of Asbo imposed after swastika was on his front door
46-year-old asked manager Paul MacAllion if he ‘only served blacks or Jews’
He told Old Bailey judge ‘no probs’ as he was led away to cells for 21 months

A racist thug who made a Nazi salute inside a packed pub and called black people c***s and n*****s was today jailed for almost two years and branded a ‘disgrace to the values of this country’. John Hennigan, 46, of Harlow, Essex, was caught on camera delivering the fascist gesture in front of shocked drinkers in February at The Magpie pub in Bishopsgate, central London. The antics put him in breach of an Asbo imposed in 2005 when a swastika was discovered daubed on the front door of his council house. It was the seventh time he had flouted the order. Racist: John Hennigan, 46, of Harlow, Essex, was caught on camera delivering the fascist gesture in front of shocked drinkers in February at The Magpie pub in Bishopsgate, central London

Hennigan claimed he had only been raising his arm to collect his change after paying for a drink, but was convicted by a majority verdict of 10-2 after a trial at the Old Bailey in central London. Sentencing Hennigan, Judge Nicholas Cooke QC told him the court was ‘not upholding some culture of political correctness’ but ‘preserving public order’ and dealing with unacceptable behavior. He added: ‘In this crowded public house in this city you gave a Nazi salute and spoke provocatively of Jews. The Holocaust was a crime against humanity of enormous magnitude.

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‘Behaving in the way you did was appalling. You spoke of black people as c***s and n*****s.

‘The use of such terms is grossly offensive and conjures up memories of the slave trade, again a crime against humanity of enormous magnitude. Behaving in such a way was likewise appalling.’

The judge said Hennigan’s antics were also an affront to those who fought against the ‘racist evil of Nazism’ in the Second World War and ‘insults the memories of those who sacrificed themselves’. London pub: Hennigan had been barred from The Magpie in central London two times before but was spotted on CCTV by manager Paul MacAllion. ‘He was making Nazi salutes at the bar,’ the manager said London pub: Hennigan had been barred from The Magpie in central London two times before but was spotted on CCTV by manager Paul MacAllion. ‘He was making Nazi salutes at the bar,’ the manager said He added: ‘You see yourself as some sort of loyal nationalist or crusader against Communism. You are in fact a disgrace to the values of this country.’

Hennigan, who attended court wearing a T-shirt with an image of left-wing Argentine revolutionary Che Guevara with a line through it, told the judge ‘no probs’ as he was led away to the cells. ‘You see yourself as some sort of loyal nationalist or crusader against Communism. You are in fact a disgrace to the values of this country’

Judge Nicholas Cooke QC

The racist has 43 previous convictions for offences including drug and firearm possession and common assault. He was last before the courts for breaching his Asbo in 2010. That was after he launched racist abuse at a newsagent before attacking him with a sweet display.

Hennigan had been barred from The Magpie two times before but was spotted on CCTV by manager Paul MacAllion. ‘He was making Nazi salutes at the bar,’ the manager said

‘I was trying to make sure it was the same guy I had barred, staring at the CCTV, and three times I saw him do it. I went immediately down to the bar and confronted him. Hearing: Hennigan, who attended the Old Bailey wearing a T-shirt with an image of left-wing Argentine revolutionary Che Guevara with a line through it, told the judge ‘no probs’ as he was led away ‘He’d bought a drink so I got the money from the bar staff, gave him his money back and told him to get out because I’d barred him previously and he was making Nazi salutes.

‘At that stage I think he said something like: “If I was a Jew or a c**n you wouldn’t be doing this”.’ As he was kicked out, Hennigan told Mr McAllion: ‘If my mum and dad came down would they be barred too? Or do you just serve blacks and Jews?’ ‘If my mum and dad came down would they be barred too? Or do you just serve blacks and Jews?’

What John Hennigan was said to have told pub manager Paul McAllion Hennigan faces a further charge of assaulting a police officer, which will be dealt with by City of London magistrates. He is said to have branded a constable a ‘f***ing pathetic little creature’ when confronted about his outburst in The Magpie. He also faces another trial for a further breach of the Asbo, which is due to take place at Chelmsford Crown Court later this year. Hennigan denied a single count of breaching an Asbo. He was convicted and jailed for 21 months.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

i) Hennigan had been barred from The Magpie two times before but was spotted on CCTV by manager Paul MacAllion. ‘He was making Nazi salutes at the bar,’ the manager said ‘I was trying to make sure it was the same guy I had barred, staring at the CCTV, and three times I saw him do it. I went immediately down to the bar and confronted him.

ii) Hennigan faces a further charge of assaulting a police officer, which will be dealt with by City of London magistrates. He is said to have branded a constable a ‘f***ing pathetic little creature’ when confronted about his outburst in The Magpie.

Aye that!

iii) Hennigan denied a single count of breaching an Asbo. He was convicted and jailed for 21 months.

Oh great, favour the prison-building-contractor-supplier complex some more. Englands finished at 40K per year per prisoner.

Thats the only chargeable offense. As for the cussing etc., enforcement should be already trained to ignore that sort of thing as per Freedom of Speech. Thats what sets the police apart from the regular citizens – discipline. Police who do not have the sklll to ignore such verbal abuse and sure as hell cannot handle the real criminals. Hennigan is a tough and in fact negatively patriotic civilian (better than treacherous bankers that sell off or destroy the country, or politicians that only want to enrich themselves and refuse to amend laws while hogging democratic space by exceeding term limits or even regfusing to ratify term limits) but no criminal action occurs unless property was destroyed or assault or any touching or manhandling at very least occured.

“Bertilak” may derive from bachlach, a Celtic word meaning “churl” (i.e. rogueish, unmannerly). Alternatively it may derive from “bresalak”, meaning “contentious”. He tests Moses three times by doing seemingly evil acts, which are eventually revealed to be noble deeds to prevent greater evils or reveal great goods. Without this sort of nuance of harsh teachers to put England on a learning curve of logic and readiness to resolve issues in society, England winds up with ‘f***ing pathetic little creatures’ without nuance and in this case ‘coarse subtlty’.

Had to imprison the guy 21 months instead on the taxpayer’s monies eh? England is finished. Let the ‘f***ing pathetic little creatures’ run the show abit longer, and the English will be wailing along with the worst of them x times a day. As for the assault, I’m sure the taxpayers and Hennigan would prefer (and be well able to handle) to allow the cop to hit back with an equal number of punches and kicks in ‘revenge’ and be done with the whole sorry drama. Tyrants’ natures are indeed most unworthy of respect, and the worst colonial powers in the world are not surprisingly the English. No one in the world weak enough, or primitive enough to bully so going after the citizens now eh? Pitiful and mealy minded English!

Try this organic response to what might be a like minded aspiring champion . . .

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Knight
Villanaise the heroes and make heros of the villains, little wonder Scotland sees no reason to stick around and thats not just about the load of insulting innuendo etc. . . .

People make noise as they take part in a casserole march to protest against government’s austerity reforms and the public payment of bank’s debts on October 13, 2012 in Madrid. (AFP Photo / Pedro Armestre)

Demonstrators across the world are calling for an end to austerity as Global Noise protests kick off in more than 30 countries, including many in the Nobel Peace laureate European Union.

­The worldwide demonstrations on Saturday passed without incident, and Caleb Maupin from the International Action Centre explained what’s driving the public to take to the streets.

RT: A year ago Occupy Wall Street spread across the world, and now it’s Global Noise. What is Global Noise all about? How is it different?

Caleb Maupin: Basically, Global Noise is saying we are not going to be silent. Because right now the banks are coming for us – they are cutting all of the programs. There is mass unemployment. There is cutting in government spending and the governments of the world are just having to pay back the banks.

And in the process, our future is being destroyed. It is impossible to get an education in this country without a rising debt. What we are saying is that we are going to be a global noise. We are the next generation, the youth part of the working class as our future is being destroyed. We are not going to silently sit back and let them destroy our future. We are going to be loud. We are going to be confrontational and we are going demand that this stop.

Austerity is a crime against the people. These cuts are a crime against us, and we are going to demonstrate and we are going to oppose it.

RT: America has not seen austerity cuts as of yet. But in Europe this is precisely what the Global Noise rallies were aimed against. Is it merely a show of support for Europe, or is there, say, a message in the demonstrations for the US presidential candidates?

CM: There are plenty of austerity cuts in the United States. Food stamps, a program which many millions of people depend on so they can have food, is being cut. College prices are going up. They had kind of halted it because they are planning after the elections to have austerity. All the major cuts are going to happen after the election.

But even with these latest debates, you see Romney and Ryan, Obama and Biden, they are all debating how much to cut. How responsibly can you get rid of Social Security, how responsibly can we do it? It is austerity, it is global austerity. Because, you know, Lenin spoke of it in his book – imperialism is the highest stage of capitalism, because the banks kind of become the center of capitalism, its monopoly stage.

And right now it is a revolt against banks. Instead of people having to take all these cuts, why don’t they simply start the cuts to the banks? The government of the United States has the ability to do that. They can pass legislature saying that the banks have to be delayed, but instead they keep paying back the banks with these loans that have taken from the government, and programs that people need to survive on are being cut.

At a time of mass unemployment, millions of youth have great anger on what’s going on, and it is exploding into a global anti-capitalist rebellion. It is here in US. The phrase “we are the 99%” represents what millions of people understand, which is that a small elite, the bankers, capitalists, they own the world and the rest of us just get to live in it.

Well, it is time that we are heard. We are a global noise and we are going to rise up and demand a change to that situation.

RT: Presidential elections are coming up in the US and the Obama administration is criticized for the bailout, while Republicans are promising austerity. And what do you think the policy should be for the US here?

CM: I think whoever wins this election, it is very clear that after the election, it’s over. They are going to begin an extreme amount of mass austerity. And the terms of the debate are sickening – the terms of the debate are essentially how much to cut. Some people say, we should just cut everything; others say we should just cut a little bit. No! The people don’t have to pay for the crisis the bankers created.

But that message is not part of the discourse in this country right now. The discourse is limited to one form of cutting or one form of cutbacks, and that is frightening. And that is why the Occupy movement came in. We are the 99%, or as the labor movement and progressive forces have said for a long time – class against class.

It is not Republicans versus Democrats. It is about the bankers versus the people – the people who sell their labor to survive and those who own the world.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

For every step nearer to cuts of any sort, let there be very dead people in ever step, and a very obvious trail of footprints to those who cause such harm. So that retaliation will be unavoidable and so that those who cause such harm will be not dare harm any other. Some of us have the right, anyone else does not, differentiate and rain punishment upon those who presume to presume anything or any word. No more foreclosures and compound interest upon the jobless.

X Factor star Gary Barlow says claims the show is rigged have damaged its integrity.

The Take That singer stormed off set last Sunday after fellow judge Louis Walsh failed to save his singer Carolynne Poole ahead of ‘joke’ act Rylan Clarke. By withholding his vote, he forced a Deadlock.

The result, which saw Miss Poole sent home as the act with the fewest public votes, came after viewers saw Walsh in conversation with the programme’s executive producer.

Asked if he thought the integrity of the programme had been damaged, 41-year-old Barlow said: ‘I think in the short term, definitely because I just know what I’m being told as I go round and speak to the public.’

Some viewers felt last week’s show was a fix, because producers engineered the judging so they could lose the contestant they wanted.

‘A timeless goddess’: X Factor favourite Ella Henderson stuns again as she hits the high notes in Minnie Riperton’s classic
Gary Barlow offers Louis Walsh an olive branch after Rylangate… but it isn’t long before they’re clashing again

But Barlow said: ‘People’s votes do count. What people spend their money on was worth it. The two things I worry about are the contestants and the fans and I think it did us no favours last weekend.

‘The idea of it being a fix, I hate stuff like that. We’ve got really talented people up there and I don’t want to cheapen it. It was a bad end to the week. It was disappointing.’
Barlow said he had spoken to producers about ensuring there was never any suggestion programme-makers were influencing the judges’ votes

Barlow said he had spoken to producers about ensuring there was never any suggestion programme-makers were influencing the judges’ votes

Barlow also said he had spoken to producers about ensuring there was never any suggestion programme-makers were influencing the judges’ votes.

‘The whole thing about someone coming up on stage – that will never happen again,’ he said. ‘Even if it’s just to say which order we’ve got to vote in. There should be no one on that stage with us and I said that after last week’s show. ‘

Barlow added that he had been taken to task by his mother Marjorie for being disrespectful to Louis. ‘My mum always tells me to respect my elders, so I got a bit of a telling-off on Sunday.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

This is b.s.. All of the audience should vote on a 1 to 1 basis. A handful of judges voting alone destroys democracy. This is a 1% situation. Remake the damn voting system you producers! How about a button the every member of the audience can press, and randomly selected ‘debate’ judges to sit alongside and even argue with the ‘star’ judges? Much more inclusive means that much more fun and democratic.

ARTICLE 4

120,000 troubled families could be legally banned from spending benefits on alcohol and tobacco – by Christopher Hope, Senior Political Correspondent

Troubled families living on benefits will be legally barred from spending welfare money on alcohol and tobacco, under plans being drawn up in Whitehall.
8:00AM BST 13 Oct 2012

Iain Duncan Smith has asked his officials to see if so-called ‘problem’ families should receive their welfare payments on smart cards, rather than in cash.

The cards would only be able to pay for “priority” items such as food, housing, clothing, education and health care.

The Work and Pensions secretary wants to stop parents who are alcoholics or who are on drugs from using welfare payments to fuel their addictions.

The team of civil servants in his department have been asked to come up with proposals by the end of this month.

However the Government cannot currently stipulate how people spend their benefits money and the law would need to be changed to do so for certain groups.

One idea is for the 120,000 problem families who were identified in the Government’s riots review to be given the Oyster-style cards.

A source close to Mr Duncan Smith said: “There are people who are using benefits to fund a habit and children are going hungry.

“It is something that he is serious about – if he can make it work and he can legislate then he is very keen to do it.”

The charge card model is based on a “basics card” scheme which started to be rolled out for thousands of people in Australia in August this year.

Instead of being given cash or cheques, claimants are now issued with electronic “credit” cards to purchase key “priority” items at approved stores across the country.

Money is electronically placed on the card once a fortnight, when people receive their benefit payments. No more than A$1,500 (£961) can be spent per day. If money is not spent, it can be built up as savings.

Mr Duncan Smith said he was against using a US-style food stamps system because they are often traded as a form of currency.

The Cabinet minister disclosed his plans at a meeting of Conservative activists at the party conference this week.

He said: “I am looking at the moment at ways in which we could ensure that money we give them to support their lives is not used to support a certain lifestyle.

“I am certainly looking at it – I am going through that in some detail… With the use of cards, we are looking at that to see if we can do something.

In the immediate aftermath of the 2011 riots in English cities, Prime Minister David Cameron pledged to turn around the lives of the 120,000 by 2015.

He said: “I have an ambition, before the end of this Parliament, we will turn around the lives of 120,000 most troubled families.

“We need more urgent action, too, on the families that some people call ‘problem’, others call ‘troubled’, the ones that everyone in their neighbourhood knows and often avoids.”

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Fair enough. People on the dole should not expect too much fun for doing nothing at least until the country is on even keel. Not that the country denies such luxuries but alcohol and tobacco are luxuries after all that a country is debt should be forgiven for not spending on. At the same time prices rises in alcohol should not be applied. If the poor work part time and alcohol takes all their earnings, how does that help the economy? Perhaps an assignment of amount that they can buy of either at most in exchange for free state insurance for example? All that biometrics and credit card control etc.. and nothing applied.

ARTICLE 5

‘It was really disgusting’: Susan Sarandon reveals she was exploited on the casting couch as a young actress – by Celeste Morgan – PUBLISHED: 01:05 GMT, 14 October 2012 | UPDATED: 07:09 GMT, 14 October 2012

She’s an Oscar winner and one of the biggest stars of her generation.

But there was a time when Susan Sarandon was just another unknown hoping to make it in showbusiness.

And the actress has revealed that as a young hopeful she was the victim of exploitation as she auditioned for a role.

She confided to Elle magazine about a ‘disgusting,’ casting-couch experience that happened in her younger years.

Younger days: Susan Sarandon during her early career at the age of 24 in 1970

‘It was not successful – for either of us,’ Sarandon explained, when asked if she had ever had a casting-couch experience.

‘I just went into a room, and a guy practically threw me on the desk.

‘It was my early days in New York, and it was really disgusting. It wasn’t like I gave it a second though, it was so badly done.’
Stunner:Another age defying moment for Susan at a Conde Naste event in September in New York

Stunner: Another age defying moment for Susan at a Conde Naste event in September in New York

She does not give any details of which audition she was assaulted at.

Sarandon had her first audition at 23 when she went to a casting call for the motion picture Joe, landing a major co-starring role in the film, which was released in 1970.

The actress went on to win an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in the 1995 film Dead Man Walking.

Toyboy: Susan and her 35-year-old boyfriend Jonathan Bricklin

In her interview, as reported on Radar online, she also defended her romance with her much-younger boyfriend, ping-pong entrepreneur Jonathan Bricklin.

‘People make him out to be much younger than he is – and me older,’ Sarandon explained to the fashion magazine, clarifying that he is 35, not 33 as has been widely reported.

As well as being lovers, the pair are business partners in ping-pong club SPiN.

The couple have been linked since 2010 after Susan split from longtime partner Tim Robbins, with whom she has two children.

Susan kept mum on her rumoured relationship with Jonathan until March of this year.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

For the right person and in the right mood, Susan wouldn’t have felt bothered at all and even laid into the whole sleazy Hollywood thing. Breast jiggles and gluteal gropes anyone?

When Empires Join Hands: Japanese Military Joins U.S. And NATO In Horn Of Africa

Moscow: Japan’s recent illegal moves to “purchase” China’s Diaoyu Islands show militarism is on the rise in that country, according to a Russian war veteran.

Vasili Ivanov, deputy head of the Russia-China Friendship Society’s Central Office, told Xinhua that Japan’s refusal to recognize China’s sovereignty over the Diaoyu Islands, which was stipulated in post-war documents, showed a “resurrection of the samurai.”

The 91-year-old, who fought Japanese troops in northeast China during World War II, said some Japanese, especially right-wingers, did not recognize the country’s unconditional and voluntary surrender in the war.

“Japan’s refusal to recognize the war results means they will demand the return of all they had before the war – lands, islands they illegally occupied and lost,” Ivanov said.

“All their escapades, including the recent one against China, are meant to confirm their right to these lands,” he said.

“We, along with other participants in the war against Japan, are categorically against the return of Japanese militarism,” the veteran said.

Ivanov said the Diaoyu Islands had never belonged to Japan and China was recognized as the rightful owner by binding post-war legal documents, such as the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Proclamation.

The two documents stipulated Japan should return all the territories taken from China, including Taiwan and its surrounding islands, he said.

However, under agreements with the United States, Japan illegally occupied the Diaoyu Islands and now even tried to claim them.

Japan might go further with its territorial ambitions, keeping its relations with China, Russia, South Korea and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea on edge, the veteran warned.

He urged closer cooperation among those countries in opposing Tokyo’s rising militaristic ambitions.

“Leaders (of those countries) ought to give a due rebuff to Japanese ultra-right forces. They should tell the ultra-right wingers this is it – all is settled and recognized by the whole world. No changes can be made now,” Ivanov said.

The Japanese right wingers should know their farces would come to naught, the veteran said.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

The Japs are still cool and ahead of time (barely – though without substance – i.e. all the giant and slick mecha cartoons and culture starting in the 80s, but when Fukushima struck 30 years later, all they had was a soviet era clamp type robotic arm on a threadbare/rickety motorized servette that broke down . . . mount some guns on this sort of robot, mass produce and conquer the worst of the Middle East and any nepotist run ASEAN nations . . . ), but the Japanese attitudes and history are rubbish no thanks to the right wingers. Tacit approval via silence becomes an issue with the Chrysanthemum King . . . United Korea, Mongolia and China reclaim what was stolen (Monarchy / 12 century fleet’s lives / Centre of Far East and Imperium)

The two-time monarch loved fast cars and women, survived the Khmer Rouge and trod the world stage.

Former King of Cambodia dies – Norodom Sihanouk, the former King of Cambodia with a record number of political titles, has died in Beijing at 89.

THE body of Norodom Sihanouk, the cherubic, mercurial but ruthless two-time king of Cambodia and a towering figure in Asia’s politics will be brought home from China for a grand cremation in the Cambodian and Buddhist tradition.

He died, aged 89, early on Monday in Beijing after a long illness. Across Cambodia, flags flew at half mast and monks chanted for the feudal-style monarch who was beloved by his people but was seldom able to deliver the peace they craved through decades of violence.

Sihanouk’s son and successor, Norodom Sihamoni and Prime Minister Hun Sen flew to Beijing to retrieve the body of the sax-playing, champagne-serving monarch.

Cambodia’s then King Norodom Sihanouk,79, greets his subjects upon his arrival at the annual crop-planting ceremony outside the royal palace in Phnom Penh. Photo: Reuters

Many Cambodians regarded him as semi-divine, although some of the younger generation saw him as a figure of the past and partly responsible for the country’s tragedies.
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Prince Sisowath Thomico, a royal family member who was his assistant, said the former king had suffered a heart attack at a hospital.

”It’s painful. I am full of sorrow … King Sihanouk did not belong to his family, he belonged to Cambodia and to its history,” the prince said.

Suffering illnesses including colon cancer, diabetes and hypertension, Sihanouk asked in January that his ashes be placed in a stupa at the river-front Royal Palace, in an urn, preferably made of gold.

A massive crowd of mourners are expected for the funeral.

Born on October 31, 1922, Sihanouk was crowned king by the French occupiers in 1941.
Wearing the traditionnal “krama”, Prince Norodom Sihanouk (right), poses with Khieu Samphan, top Khmer Rouge leader, in the Cambodia maquis.

They assumed the giggling, overweight prince would be compliant to their requests.

But he became a ruthless politician who played superpowers off against each other while maintaining a role at home and in world politics.

He kept Cambodia neutral during the Cold War, nurtured relations with communist China, was a founder of the Non-Aligned Movement, broke off diplomatic relations with the US over the Vietnam War and was sent into lonely exile in Beijing after a US-backed coup in 1970.

Cambodia’s then King Norodom Sihanouk (left) and Queen Monineth wave to the crowd upon their arrival at the annual boat racing festival in Phnom Penh in 2001. Photo: Reuters

Sihanouk has been criticised for his support of the Khmer Rouge in the early 1970s.

But his relations with the organisation responsible for the deaths of 1.7 million Cambodians was always strained.

”The Khmer Rouge do not like me at all, and I know that,” he said in a 1973 interview.

”When they no longer need me, they will spit me out like a cherry.”

When he returned to Phnom Penh, the Khmer Rouge ordered his execution, but he was saved by Chinese leader Zhou Enlai.

In a 2005 memoir, he said he ”dared to struggle in alliance” with the Khmer Rouge, but condemned their ”despotic and bloody regime”.

Sihanouk was famous for singing love songs at elaborate dinners.

He made movies, brought his French poodle to negotiations, married at least five times and fathered 14 children.

He liked fast cars, food and women. He dazzled world leaders with his wit, often entertaining diplomats and foreign officials with champagne breakfasts and French meals.

Weary of politics, he stepped down from the throne for the last time in 2004.

Bravery then alliance with the enemy? Convoluted.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Cradle of life anyone? Sihanouk had some bad patches as well, to support Khmer Rouge when one could remain neutral is uncalled for. Then again perhaps Sihanouk has no such luxury ASEAN being a very dangerous place post WW2.

ARTICLE 8

Sinclair News Contribution Challenge In Support of im2moro.org – October 12, 2012 – by Lawrence Sinclair

In an effort to support the young people behind Voices Without a Vote Sinclair News is offering the first business or individual who contributes $1000.00 to im2moro.org (im2moro is a non-profit 501c3, tax-exempt organization, which means your donations are tax deductible. Our tax ID is 27-2901233) in response to this challenge, a one year static header banner ad on Sinclair News. This banner ad will be placed in our header above the Sinclair News logo and will display on every page every time this site is visited. From Oct 5, 2012 thru Oct 11, 2012 Sinclair news has been displayed to 1,076,934 visitors (stats from CloudFare analytical).

The business or individual who wishes to meet this Challenge may contact Audrea Taylor to make the contribution. Please inform Miss. Taylor the contribution is in response to the Sinclair News, Through the Mirror w/Larry Sinclair Ad Challenge so Miss. Taylor can notify us who has earned the one year banner ad spot.

Im2moro: Telling Us Today What Tomorrow Should Bring

We all have to Speak Out, and Stand Up as Taylor and her peers proudly proclaim on im2moro.org’s web site. Last night Through the Mirror w/Larry Sinclair spoke with im2moro co-founders Audrea Taylor; Blake Andersen and Luke Andersen (you can listen to the interview from here

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Its not always true that adults know whats best for the children, and the time has long since come and passed where adults need to be slapped across the back of the head by the very children we say we are protecting. Anyone who has ever watched the CBS program NCIS, you know that Agent Gibbs is always slapping Agent Dinozzo on the back of the head to get his attention, well we see the kids behind im2moro as Agent Gibbs and the adults as Dinozzo.

Clearly if we are to be seen as being genuinely concerned with the tomorrow for our kids and grand kids, then we must listen to them and bring them into the conversation and the decision making process. What we find truly amazing about this group of young people is that:

1. They are not promoting a particular party or candidate, but instead are simply demonstrating how based on Constitutional Principles we can come together for the betterment and interest of ALL Americans and the 2moro’s for our children.

2. Rather than try and beat someone over the head based on party or politician, these young people are building upon what we all have in common and agree on.

This is an organization which was founded and has grown through teenagers who when it started were just 12, 13, 15 years old. There is an old proverb “out of the mouths of babes,” which could not be anymore appropriate in describing these young men and women (who despite their ages are just that, young men & women).

Not only is Sinclair News offering one year of header banner static ad space to one person or business who contributes $1000.00 to im2moro.org, we challenge other organizations who sell advertising on their sites to do the same.

Any readers who would like to support this organization can do so by clicking on the below im2moro image which will take you to the groups donation page.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

People, start by offering yourself as a candidate if your hegelian dialectic Rep./Dem. offers dead wood or term limitless. First law should be to distribute unused state land for growing of food (that will stop the food stamp issue and keep the jobless busy) to the homeless and the poor AS WELL as stop foreclosures of homes and further compound interest on homes.

Require the next or more generation to pay the remnant at flat rate BUT NO INTEREST and NO FORECLOSURES. Those without jobs should not be made homeless as well. Those second or third or more homes not in use can still be foreclosed but those who are jobless should be left off foreclosure until they find jobs, at which point only 20% of the salary could be applied – people owing banks got to eat too.

If the above is ratified into law by ALL Congressmen, and all Governors, USA would be abut more sustainable, though banks might have to wait longer to get their money back.

Slower economic growth took its toll on many of China’s 100 biggest fortunes, according to the 2012 Forbes China Rich List, with 45 of them slipping from last year’s count and their total assets dropping 7 percent to $220 billion.

Wahaha boss tops China rich list

Zong Qinghou, the founder and chairman of the beverage producer Hangzhou Wahaha Group Co Ltd, who topped the list in 2010, regained his title as the richest businessmen in China, with a net worth of nearly $10 billion, according to the list.

With an 80 percent share in Wahaha, Forbes said Zong’s fortune exceeded 60 billion yuan ($9.57 billion), over 2 billion yuan more than last year.

Wang Jianlin, chairman and president of Dalian Wanda Group Co Ltd, was the fastest riser in the past year, seeing his wealth jump from 25.6 billion yuan to 50.4 billion yuan, making up the top three with Zong and Robin Li from China’s search engine company Baidu.

The Forbes list comes a fortnight after Zong, 67, topped the Hurun Rich List 2012, which estimated his fortune at $12.6 billion, the second time he has topped the list produced by the Shanghai-based Hurun Research Institute.

Russell Flannery, a senior editor at Forbes and chief of its Shanghai Bureau, said: “Wang outperformed with his greatest success entering the entertainment industry with the announcement of a $2.6 billion acquisition of US cinema chain AMC Entertainment.”

The Forbes list was compiled using shareholding and financial information obtained from the families and individuals, stock exchanges, analysts and China’s regulatory agencies.

Public fortunes were calculated based on stock prices and exchange rates as of Sept 21. Private companies were valued based on similar companies that are publicly traded.

Compared to Zong and Wang, others in the demanding consumer sector did not fare as well, however.

Zhang Jindong, the chairman of Suning Appliance Co Ltd, saw a drop in his value of $2.4 billion, even as he opened up a commanding market lead over longtime rival Gome Electrical Appliances Holding Ltd, owned by Huang Guangyu who suffered a $2 billion drop in value and who still sits in jail for financial crimes.

Qiu Guanghe of the fashion chain Zhejiang Semir Group shed $2.8 billion and fell to 37th.

“Most of the businesses related to the consumer and retail sectors are suffering in these tough times by making less profits and experiencing some financial problems,” said Flannery. He added that the total number of billionaires in China fell from 146 last year to 113 this year, caused by the economic slowdown.

Several property tycoons also suffered, with last year’s list leader Liang Wengen seeing his worth drop $3.4 billion as demand slowed for the building materials produced by Sany Heavy Industry Co Ltd, which he chairs.

The real estate sector as a whole also saw several casualties within the list, as property deals cooled and developers saw projects shelved and prices slow.

“All those ups and downs of rich people in China in different industries lead to the conclusion that the slowdown of China’s economy has brought uncertainty to local private enterprises,” said Zhou Jiangong, chief editor of Forbes Chinese edition.

yuran@chinadaily.com.cn

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Wahaha? Stop laughing over there and wake up or embolden the cowards in certain governments. Being great alone safe in China, is no good if your country still has poor or other Chinese elsewhere are getting the short end of the political stick. Being great alone is not great if in other countries your fellow countrymen are oppressed or enslaved or treated below others. Do set up and fund political parties to challenge inequality for all Chinese across the world! The Chinese expect equality at very least and if China’s colonies fall from neglect of Chinese rights, China will not be able to project power and that same rot will actually reach China from sheer neglect. The courage or funds lacking in some places needs to come from China.

Fred Dixon, 18, and David Aston-Brown, 20, have been jailed for three years
Pair pounced on Roger Brookes, 37, before punching him to the floor
Dixon had previous convictions for battery and common and sexual assault
Thug Aston-Brown had previous convictions for racially aggravated public disorder, battery against an ex-girlfriend and handling stolen goods

Two thugs battered a factory worker in the street and robbed him of 80p while dressed as a tiger and a red devil.

Fancy dress duo Fred Dixon, 18, and David Aston-Brown, 20, pounced on Roger Brookes, 37, in the early hours of August 20.

The pair shouted at Mr Brookes as he made his way to work at a plant in Hereford before snatching his rucksack, a court has heard.

Fred Dixon, 18, and David Aston-Brown, 20, dressed up as a tiger and a red devil and battered an innocent man
Fred Dixon battered a man in the street and robbed him of just 80p

David Aston-Brown battered a man in the street and robbed him of just 80p

Dixon, left and Aston-Brown, right, ‘got drunk’ and dressed up in fancy dress to go and ‘mess around’

Security cameras captured the thugs punching him to the floor, causing him to cut his head.

Dixon then put Mr Brookes in a head-lock so Aston-Brown could kick him in the chest, Worcester Crown Court heard.

After emptying their victim’s bag on the floor the thugs made off with just 80p, a key ring and a work clocking-in card.

The pair were jailed for three years each on Monday.

Sentencing the pair from Whitecross, Hereford, Judge John Cavell said: ‘This was determined street violence on a complete stranger.

‘You stole property that was almost trifling in its value, but caused serious harm to your victim.’

When police released CCTV images of the thugs in August, it was originally thought they were dressed as cats.

But before they were sentenced it was revealed Dixon wore a tiger-print all-in-one suit, while Aston-Brown was dressed as a red devil.
The men, pictured in a corridor in their fancy dress costumes, have past convictions for battery

The men, pictured in a corridor in their fancy dress costumes, have past convictions for battery

CCTV footage captures the two thugs in their costumes in the early hours of August 20

Defending Dixon, Michael Aspinall said the men had got drunk, dressed up and gone out to ‘mess around’.

He added: ‘These were two heavily intoxicated young men had gone out, in Fred Dixon’s case in breach of a curfew, but not to commit offences.’

The court heard Dixon had previous convictions for battery, common assault, sexual assault, criminal damage and an attempted robbery.

While Aston-Brown had previous convictions for racially aggravated public disorder, battery against an ex-girlfriend and handling stolen goods.

Dixon had only been released from a youth detention centre less than two weeks before the incident.

Speaking after the case, Detective Sergeant Tim Powell from Hereford Police said: ‘The case was solved thanks to the media reports and members of the public coming forward to give information that led us to CCTV footage which positively identified the suspects, leaving them with no option but to plead guilty.’

Both men had pleaded guilty to robbery at an earlier hearing.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

How about asking if the victim would like to kick the attackers back approximately equally hard back, and save the taxpayers 3 years of jail costs after dismissing the case?

Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, who has pledged to repeal Obamacare, says that people without health insurance don’t have to worry about dying as a result.

“We don’t have people that become ill, who die in their apartment because they don’t have insurance,” Romney said in an interview with the Columbus Dispatch’s editorial board on Wednesday.

While it’s difficult to tell how many people die each year from lack of health insurance, one study, from a health care advocacy group, puts the number at 26,000 deaths per year.

“We don’t have a setting across this country where if you don’t have insurance, we just say to you, ‘Tough luck, you’re going to die when you have your heart attack,'” he added in the interview. “No, you go to the hospital, you get treated, you get care, and it’s paid for, either by charity, the government or by the hospital.”

Romney took a similar stance in an interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes” in late September, when he said: “We do provide care for people who don’t have insurance. If someone has a heart attack, they don’t sit in their apartment and die. We pick them up in an ambulance, and take them to the hospital, and give them care.”

Roughly 4 in 25 Americans, or nearly 49 million Americans, had no health insurance last year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Repealing Obamacare would deny access to health insurance to about 30 million uninsured Americans who would have received it under health care reform.

Letting so many people go uninsured ultimately can cost both individuals and society. When people lack health insurance, their health worsens, and their health treatments become more expensive, research has found. People without health insurance also are in danger of facing massive medical bills, debt, and bankruptcy if they get sick or injured.

On top of that, society at large sometimes must pay for the uninsured through higher taxes and health care costs. The government often helps pay for unpaid emergency room bills. States and cities that run hospitals lose money when hospital bills go unpaid. And economists have found that hospitals sometimes charge higher prices for health care, and health insurance companies sometimes charge higher premiums, because the uninsured often are unable to pay for health care.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Indirect assurance that neurotech will not be used to enrich insurance businesses or enable healthcare profiteering? If Romney is aware, Romney had better get the FBO or CIA take away access from the 3rd world Junta this sort of technology. USA’s democracy will be safer than if the Hudud accepting freaks get their hands on this and end up playing the USA into terrorist hands while real world citizens who would stop such undemocratic monsters are destroyed.

ARTICLE 12

‘We seem very conservative, but we have the BIGGEST desires’ – China sex festival – Tuesday, 09 October 2012 06:44

“One-two-THREE! CONTROL! … and relax,” Ma Jian urges. The 78-year-old author is addressing a few dozen men clustered around a stage in Guangzhou, but he aspires to a much bigger audience. “China has more than 2,000 years of sexual history and culture and skills. It has sexual experience which western countries have never known. I want to introduce its expertise to people here and people overseas and make all men happy,” he said.

“I want all women to benefit. I take guys who shoot in three minutes and teach them to hang on for 30. That’s long enough.”

Until 10 years ago this evangelist was, he said, “an underground worker”, toiling in strictest secrecy. He grew up in the sexually repressive society created by Mao Zedong. The chairman of the People’s Republic may have shared his own bed with numerous women, but under his rule bodies were disguised in shapeless suits and holding hands in public was shocking.

Even in the 80s, after liberalisation had begun, a man was executed for organising orgies. Now Ma rattles off his advice – swimming increases sexual desire; pee in short bursts, not a stream – at a convention co-hosted by family planning authorities.

More than 30,000 visitors thronged last weekend to the 10th national (Guangzhou) sex culture festival to watch pole dancers, buy 007-brand condoms and browse porn in a resolutely unerotic exhibition centre. Couples take happy snaps with giant virility figures, and unabashed shoppers fondle realistic sex dolls (though not, this year, inflatable Obamas). The wealthiest can even choose a 100,000 yuan (£10,000) solid gold “pleasure object” – the kind of high-class product that appeals to shoppers usually found in Louis Vuitton or Dolce & Gabbana, a sales assistant said.

Chinese sex fair catwalk

But the shots of “artistic nudes” are tame by western standards. And though hordes of men photograph furiously as semi-clad models strut to a disco version of the Old Spice theme, there’s no pouting or lip-licking. These days, sexual experimentation and puritanism sit side by side in China.

Qiu Shuang, a lesbian activist and sex toy saleswoman, argued that repression had only kindled passions. “Maybe we seem very conservative, but we have the biggest desires,” she said.

China has an estimated six million sex workers, yet nudity is unacceptable in the cinema and there are periodic anti-porn crackdowns. Women have hymen restoration surgery so their husbands will believe they are virgins. Two years ago, an academic was jailed for hosting sex parties. It is no coincidence that the official denunciation of the disgraced politician Bo Xilai accused him of improper sexual relationships with several women.

“People still frown on serial dating … [but] there are 200,000 sex shops and these huge sexual expos. Are they prudish about sex or are they incredibly liberated?” asked Richard Burger, whose new book, Behind the Red Door, chronicles the history of sex in China.

He argues that for centuries China’s leaders have swung between sexual openness and repression. In the Tang dynasty, prostitutes were registered; the late Ming saw explicit novels such as The Plum in the Golden Vase.

At times, homosexual love has been celebrated. At other times, erotic books have been burned.

In the west, the sexual revolution was part of a wider movement of personal liberation and challenges to authority. But in China, the post-Mao shift from procreation to recreation was driven not by the Beatles and Lady Chatterley but by the Communist party.

Sex dolls in Guangzhou

After the Cultural Revolution, the government’s control [of people’s lives] started loosening, and at the same time the one-child policy meant people could have sex lives that weren’t for the purpose of giving birth. They could have sex for pleasure,” said Pan Suiming of Renmin University, one of the country’s leading experts on sex.

Li Yinhe, another researcher, said: “In the past, women were not allowed to like sex – sex was only for giving birth to children, or serving men. Now they can enjoy sex.”

When the magazine Popular Cinema dared to print a romantic clinch in 1979, it sparked a national controversy. The publication of the kiss – a still from a Cinderella movie starring Richard Chamberlain – was “decadent, capitalist, an act meant to poison our youths”, complained an irate local propaganda official. But thousands more picked up their pens to support the magazine.

But puckering up lost its subversive edge – even if the average age for a first kiss remained at 23 just a few years ago. These days premarital sex is very common and has spread to rural areas too.

Yet even now, most assume that sexual relationships end in marriage. Half the men Pan surveyed in 2007 reported only one sexual partner – and even younger and more experienced men have double standards, as a group of female students at the festival testify.

“There’s a long way to go. People do think a woman is a slut [if she has had multiple partners],” said Emily Mai.

“We have a right to chose premarital sex,” added her friend Yee Bai. “It’s freedom. We can’t stand to have only ‘pure, spiritual’ love.”

Sun Zhongxin of Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh says the sexual revolution has benefited different sexes and sexualities to different degrees, and that both men and women may face new pressures, feeling inadequate when faced with a single and sometimes more westernised standard of sexiness.

Tens of millions of men will not find wives or long-term partners at all, because of China’s “missing” women: illegal sex-selective abortions have caused the gender ratio at birth to rise from the natural rate of 106 boys per 100 girls to 118 boys.

Many more men are migrant workers who may see their spouses once a year at best. “They can use sexual toys to let their desire out. It’s better than going to have sex with prostitutes,” said the event’s deputy director, Zhu Jianming.

But as Sun pointed out, the sex industry is not just the fruit of changing attitudes; it has been aggressive in pushing “liberalisation”.

The results can be alarming. One stall in Guangzhou is advertising a sex doll designed to look like a very young girl.

But he adds that he too worries that some people “have been influenced by western ideas about sex, are out of control and indulge themselves sexually”. He insisted the show was designed to encourage sexual morality and positive relationships, not just sexual knowledge.

Though the festival clearly caters primarily to straight men, there are several older couples browsing arm in arm. A husband and wife stop to listen attentively as a salesman demonstrates the different groans emitted by a selection of fake vaginas.

“In the past, when two people dated, they even had to keep their distance on the street,” said 25-year-old Li Bo, sheepishly clasping the sex toy he had just won in a prize draw. “Of course we wouldn’t want to go back to the old times.”

-guardian.co.uk

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Try this tourist ‘must do’ or must take photos of for the adventurous.

In suitable fengshui spots (probably where nturally phallic or clitorial looking stone formations form), install a series of silver, gold and finally, precious stone clad dildos and ‘fleshlights’ on a series of bollards EXHIBITING ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTERISTICS of the local regional culture. These will be in private but open areas for tourist use and photo taking.

Each couple or person gets to use the private or secluded space for 10 minutes, and reseervations or bookings must be made in advance (24 hours means only 164 people a day may use a single area . . . so there should be more than 1 area per scenic spot to service probably millions . . . ). To be fair, these spots should charge no more than minimum wage multiplied by the material used . . . silver x1, gold x2, and finally, precious stone x3, x4 for diamond (4 times minimum wage for diamond, though the entire series might be wanted and hence the money is made back (not so soon, a few hundred diamonds on a dildo will cost MILLIONS but since ths state has FIAT for sure that will be worth it . . . ) . . . now THATS making the most of sexuality in tourism in a most contemporary and complementary manner! Retired sex workers could be the administrators and watchmen here, and perhaps sexual themed souvenirs or ORGANIC tonic specicaltiesmade by the locals, or sex manuals, could be sold as well.

Scheduling for weekday mornings could be reserved for non-sexual use and child friendly time (children will not be harmed seeing or posing with bejewelled sex toys . . . in crowds to boot. These will eventually be fertility preserving attractions in a spiritual sense, and would be quite a draw as a form of ’emnatory’ spirito-medical tourism as well. An informal temple to fertility in fact, especially when manned or staffed by ex-sex workers WITH state pensions.

“There’s a long way to go. People do think a woman is a slut [if she has had multiple partners],” said Emily Mai. “We have a right to chose premarital sex,” added her friend Yee Bai. “It’s freedom. We can’t stand to have only ‘pure, spiritual’ love.”

Not a slut for the status unaware or status uncaring, or the downwardly mobile in need of cash. Those involved in religious work would have herbal concoctions to steady their desires meanwhile and not indulge at all even at a distance (this differentiates the false spiritulist and the sex obsessed ones posing as spiritual – indulging in spiritual sex is NOT spiritual) . . .

The lower classes and middle classes probably will not be affected and will indeed look for prostitutes (lower classes) or escorts (middle classes). The upper classes who are expected to be discreet to save face for race and society would be blackballed for certain if they do not engage themselves to formal mistresses, or use escorts that are too popular/undiscerning (i.e. do not stick to a certain group of clients at limited numbers to keep things classy – i.e. escorts that do not sleep with just anyone – who incidentally should not be raised above/be allowed to climb over the heads of the honest working class professionals etc..) or with tongues that are too loose.

Which is also the reason for so much obsession with erotica by these quasi-apex/literati classes without wealth – pure ‘spiritual love’ from authors to the readers will be the cleanest form of titillation possible to indulge in, even multiple ‘spiritual’ partners notwithstanding apex classes, or a harem of wives to indulge themselves by.

ARTICLE 13

Y.U. Mad … ‘Cause I Bought a Palace – Music Mogul Birdman spent $14.5 mil in cash money for a Miami mansion the size of a Four Seasons.

FUN HOUSE HISTORY: The mansion belonged to music producer Scott Storch until it was taken away from him in foreclosure 2 years ago. It was snatched up by the inventor of Rockstar energy drinks for $6.75 mil … and then flipped to Birdman for a huge profit.

Oh the rich. We hate them.

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Thats so characteristically white bread of so many African American stars who succeeded.

You’d think they’d decorate in a manner congruous with African cultures or that at least gives a strongly black-american accent (not exactly ghetto or hoodie yet carefully ‘uncolonial’ and ‘unsafari’ as well).

This is too European. Look at the ‘Black House’ jokes for a skewed sense of ‘African-American’ style. I’m not African but some African homes FEEL African, excepting the railings, this is just ‘white and European (not even American) bling’.

ARTICLE 13

Exclusive Coffee Has Unsavory Source – Elephant Dung in Thailand

Anantara Resorts, one of the world’s most expensive resort chains, has debuted some of the world’s costliest coffee at its Maldives properties. Just one thing though: The coffee beans are harvested from elephant dung.

The coffee is also offered at Anantara’s Golden Triangle property in Thailand.

The coffee beans, called Black Ivory and priced at $1,100 per kilogram, are digested by an elephant before you drink it.

There are only 50 kilograms, or about 110 pounds, currently for sale.

According to the resort, Black Ivory coffee beans are “naturally refined” by Thai elephants. Research indicates that during digestion, the enzymes of the elephant break down coffee protein, according to the resort. Protein is one of the factors responsible for bitterness in coffee: less protein, less bitterness.

The coffee is ground by hand and brewed table side in a four-minute process. The fragrance is said to be floral and chocolate and the taste “milk chocolate, nutty, earthy with hints of spice and red berries.”

Thai Arabica beans are picked from an altitude of 1500 meters (about 5000 feet) and fed to the elephants. “Once deposited by the elephants, the individual beans are handpicked by mahouts (elephant trainer and care giver) and their wives and sun dried.”

Refinement of the coffee takes place at the Golden Triangle Asian Elephant Foundation, an elephant conservation program. According to the resort, 8 percent of sales will fund an elephant veterinarian specialist to provide free care to the animals. Additional funds will be used to provide medicine and a new laboratory.

Black Ivory isn’t the first coffee in the world to come out of animal dung. Civet coffee, priced at several hundred dollars per pound, is harvested from the civet cats’ of Southeast Asia’s excrement.

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This is not to be used evidence of ‘insanity’ . . . the below are ideas for extreme experimental foodies, or a horror/vampire book that begins thus . . .

‘Nothing is better than fresh blood of pre-pubescent children . . . ‘ (looks like the vampire kids have been chewing on themselves again or was that the tailor . . . what say you Bellisa? Or is that Isabelle?

Perhaps that would beat J.K. Rowling in the creativity and shock factor department. The book will be called . . . “50 Shades of Red” ! Yea or Nay? Should this be written? Parasite Rowling is such a vacant casualty of ideas . . . Meanwhile we ponder another text . . .

Heres an idea for for products for the ‘Scat’ bunch (Hmm . . . Scatman?!? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scatman%27s_World) Heres some ideas, more rare and MONSTROUS flavours for the extreme foodie . . . Gargarensis would approve and no need to wear a meat dress either!

Foodies in religion eh? Dull eat-beasts more like, even if Vegetarian . . . Now this particular posting will probably this blog’s most monstrous! Counter articles/responses welcome! Commentary fight time, even at such severe handicap!

Councils warned Cameron’s plan would encourage unsightly development
Last year councils rejected outright 22,000 of 200,000 applications received
LGA fears that without such scrutiny these failed plans would now go ahead

Town hall chiefs last night vowed to kill off David Cameron’s plan to allow large extensions in back gardens.

They warned his free-for-all would encourage unsightly development and spark tension between neighbours.

In a huge blow to the Coalition’s flagship housing policy, the Local Government Association said councils would not implement the plans.
Blow: Town hall chiefs vowed to kill off David Cameron’s plan to allow large extensions in back gardens

Blow: Town hall chiefs vowed to kill off David Cameron’s plan to allow large extensions in back gardens

Homeowners can currently build a 10ft extension at a terraced property – and 13ft at a detached house – without planning consent.

Mr Cameron wants these limits doubled to 20ft and 26ft for a three-year period.

The move is needed to boost the economy, the Prime Minister says. But without the co-operation of town hall chiefs the policy is unlikely to be implemented.

Last year councils rejected outright only 22,000 of the 200,000 applications they received.

And the LGA, which represents more than 370 councils, fears that without such scrutiny these failed plans would now go ahead.

Recession has turned us into a nation of Rigsbys: Number of homeowners who rent a room to a lodger doubles in a year
Spectacular castle that inspired The Great Gatsby and played host to Jonas and Weiner weddings facing foreclosure

‘This policy potentially gives the green light to unsightly and out-of-place development without delivering a big enough boost to the construction industry to justify the potential damage,’ said the association’s Mike Jones.

‘The planning process works to ensure development is suitable for a local area and doesn’t unduly impact neighbours. Loosening rules around extensions would eliminate this vital mediation process in a large number of cases. The 22,000 applications which are rejected each year are knocked back for good reasons and it would be totally wrong if extensions which were previously rejected due to objections from neighbours or because they were judged to blight the neighbourhood could now sneak back in unimpeded.’

Tory-run councils in Lincolnshire and in Richmond, South-West London, have already said they will not cooperate with the new policy. Lincolnshire said a ‘rash of extensions’ could increase the risk of flooding in the low-lying county.
Additions: Homeowners can currently build a 10ft extension at a terraced property – and 13ft at a detached house – without planning consent

At their party conference, the Liberal Democrat rank and file also voted against the proposals.

And a YouGov poll commissioned by the Royal Institute of British Architects revealed 54 per cent believe the shake-up would lower the quality of neighbourhood design.

‘This policy potentially gives the green light to unsightly and out-of-place development without delivering a big enough boost to the construction industry to justify the potential damage’

Mike Jones,
Local Government Association

The LGA’s intervention sets the stage for a clash between town hall chiefs and Eric Pickles. The Communities Secretary has warned that homeowners could sue councils that refuse to follow the new guidance on extensions. Ministers have said however that it will be up to each council as to whether to cooperate.

The LGA’s warning is also a challenge to Mr Cameron, who repeated calls for growth-friendly planning changes in his speech to the Conservative conference in Birmingham this week.

Mr Jones countered: ‘We agree with the Government that stimulating the construction industry is essential to economic recovery but this proposal is not the answer. We need to tackle the housing crisis and that means freeing up lending so first-time buyers can secure mortgages and developers can borrow to build.
Extensions: A YouGov poll commissioned by the Royal Institute of British Architects revealed 54 per cent believe the shake-up would lower the quality of neighbourhood design

Extensions: A YouGov poll commissioned by the Royal Institute of British Architects revealed 54 per cent believe the shake-up would lower the quality of neighbourhood design

‘The Government should also lift tight restrictions on local authority borrowing so councils and housing associations can raise money to invest in new homes.’

Planning minister Nick Boles, who is a Lincolnshire MP, hit back, saying: ‘The planning system needs to strike a balance between the rights of the homeowner and their neighbours.

‘The planning system needs to strike a balance between the rights of the homeowner and their neighbours’

Nick Boles, Planning minister

‘Our proposals will make it easier for thousands of hard-working families to undertake home improvements to cater for a growing family. It will also help generate new business for local construction companies and small traders.’

When the plans emerged, Ruth Dombey, the Lib Dem leader of Sutton council in South London, said: ‘These proposals are a recipe for disaster. They have not been properly thought through.

‘If this is allowed to happen it will set neighbour against neighbour and split communities for years. On top of the resentment and loss of quality of life, some people’s houses will also plummet in value if they’ve got no light or a noisy factory is within a few metres of their front door.’

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10-13 feet? I’d say all the way to the edge of the lot (which is why there are high walls sometimes) and then overhangs out into at least the middle of the road especially for roads where heavy vehicles or tall vehicles are not allowed! Factories? How did this article steer from freedom to build on one’s property to **factories** (no outlandish smells, no outlandish noises and probably people won’t care, why should the council Jobsworths who don’t even live there care)?

. . . and developers can borrow to build. . . .

NO. England is overpopulated as is, and no more increases in population should be allowed if England is to remain self sufficient or not become a Hong Kong style hi-rise pigeon coop. Developers had better hang up their heavy construction equipment to prevent future losses from lack (actually there is nowhere left to build) of demand and consider getting into home extensions work and such.

Unless England is to be a ‘gray and unpleasant’ land (Foggy gaslight London era, drowning in rising sewage anyone? Throw in a few Jack the Rippers, absinth drinking detectives and grape eating hookers for some excitement . . . ), overbuilt that is, without green lungs, like a Englishstani slum that an Indian film maker can go to to film Slumdog Millionaire : Englishstan . . . The time of developers and developer/construction stocks is over, excepting companies able to build massive Arcology type structures and a dystopian ‘Bladerunner’ hyperdense hive that eventually turns into the ‘Matrix’, which still downs most of the smaller ‘construction’ companies without their own development landbanks.

ARTICLE 15

Lakota Sioux Nation Leaves America by Stephen Lendman – 10-1-12

America betrayed them and all Native Peoples. Throughout US history and earlier, genocide was policy.

Historian Ward Churchill explained four centuries of systematic slaughter. It went on from 1492 – 1892. It continues today against Native culture.

Churchill estimated around 100 million Native People throughout the Americas “hacked apart with axes and swords, burned alive and trampled under horses, hunted as game and fed to dogs, shot, beaten, stabbed, scalped for bounty, hanged on meathooks and thrown over the sides of ships at sea, worked to death as slave laborers, intentionally starved and frozen to death during a multitude of forced marches and internments, and, in an unknown number of instances, deliberately infected with epidemic diseases.”

Destruction of their culture continues in new forms. “The American holocaust was and remains unparalleled, in terms of its scope, ferocity, and continuance over time.”

Survivors represent a tiny fraction of original numbers. They also symbolize a longstanding US tradition of butchery and viciousness.

After centuries of systematic slaughter, Census Bureau data estimated around a quarter-million US survivors. Those living struggle to get by.

Raphael Lemkin defined genocide as:

“the destruction of a nation or of an ethnic group” that corresponds to other terms like “tyrannicide, homicide, infanticide, etc.” (It) does not necessarily mean the destruction of a nation, except when accomplished by mass killings….It is intended….to signify a coordinated plan (to destroy) the essential foundations of the life of national groups” with the intent to eradicate or substantially weaken or harm them.”

The 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide Convention defines it legally as:

“any (acts like those above) committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, the national, ethnical, racial or religious group (by) killing (its) members; causing (them) serious bodily or mental harm; (or) deliberately inflicting (on them) conditions” that may destroy them in whole or in part.

Destroying peoples’ cultures, preventing them from practicing their religion, speaking their language, and/or passing on their traditions to new generations are genocidal acts.

Constitutional provisions don’t let government abuse people or deny them their rights. They don’t authorize genocide, either within or outside the country. They don’t permit theft and occupation of their lands or any others.

Nonetheless, binding principles are spurned. America, Israel, and rogue NATO partners violate them with impunity. Crimes of war, against humanity, and genocide are official policy. Millions of corpses bear testimony.

On December 17, 2007, a delegation of Lakota people went to Washington. They declared independence. They called it “the latest step in the longest running legal battle” in history.

It’s not a cessation, they said. It’s a lawful “unilateral withdrawal” from treaty obligations permitted under the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties.

At the time, American Indian Movement (AIM) leader Russell Means said:

“We are no longer citizens of the United States of America and all those who live in the five-state area that encompasses our country are free to join us.”

“We offer citizenship to anyone provided they renounce their US citizenship.”

“United States colonial rule is at an end.”

Signed documents were delivered to the State Department. Sovereignty was declared. The Republic of Lakota was established. It’s based on the 1851 Treaty of Fort Laramie. It created the Great Lakota (Sioux) Nation. It states in part:

“The territory of the Sioux or Dahcotah Nation, commencing the mouth of the White Earth River, on the Missouri River; thence in a southwesterly direction to the forks of the Platte River; thence up the north fork of the Platte River to a point known as the Red Buts, or where the road leaves the river; thence along the range of mountains known as the Black Hills, to the head-waters of Heart River; thence down Heart River to its mouth; and thence down the Missouri River to the place of beginning.”

It gave Lakota people portions of northern Nebraska, half of South Dakota, one-fourth of North Dakota, one-fifth of Montana, and another 20% of Wyoming.

Unilateral withdrawal from all treaties and agreements became policy. America never honored its own. More on that below.

Earlier events led to the 2007 declaration. In 1974, 5,000 International Indian Treaty Council delegates, representing 97 North and South American Indigenous People, signed a Declaration of Continuing Independence.

It was a “Manifesto representing the wisdom of thousands of people, the Ancestors, and the Great Mystery supports the rights of Indigenous Nations to live free and to take whatever actions are necessary for sovereignty.”

Numerous elders approved it. They represented ancestors born to live free. They gave delegates two mandates:

(1) Gain international recognition. In September 2007, the UN Declaration of Indigenous Rights affirmed it.

(2) “We must always remember that we were once a free People. If we don’t, we shall cease to be Lakota.”

The right to return to their original free and independent status was asserted. On December 17, 2007, they declared it formally.

In United States v. Sioux Nation (1980), the Supreme Court upheld a $105 million award to eight Sioux tribes. It was compensation for lost land. It was lawlessly taken.

The Court, however, denied what Sioux people most wanted – their land back. As a result, they refused the money. They reasserted their sovereign rights.

Thirty-two years of compound interest makes the 1980 award worth $400 million today. It’s a tiny fraction of what Sioux people lost. They demand and deserve what’s rightfully theirs. America’s highest court has no sovereignty over their rights. Neither does political Washington.

Lakota people say US law supports them. America systematically broke treaties and stole their land. It’s theirs and they want it back. The Republic of Lakota claims it.

On September 29, 2012 Means reiterated what he and others declared in December 2007, saying:

“We are no longer citizens of the United States of America and all those who live in the five state area that encompasses our country are free to join us.”

He cited longstanding problems and grievances. They include land theft, resource plunder, poverty, unemployment, repression, and overall human depravation. All of it remains out of sight and mind.

The Republic of Lakota described ongoing genocide as follows:

(1) Mortality

Life expectancy for Lakota men is less than 44 years. It’s the lowest of all sovereign countries. It’s the highest in America. Infant mortality is threefold higher than the US average. Diseases are a major problem. “Cancer is now at epidemic proportions.”

Teenage suicide is150% higher than America’s average. One-fourth of Lakota children are fostered or adopted by non-Native people. Doing so destroys their identity and culture. Ward Churchill calls it killing the Indian, saving the man.

(2) Disease

Tuberculosis is 800% higher than America’s average. Cervical cancer is fivefold higher. Diabetes is eight times the national average. The Federal Commodity Food Program provides high-sugar foods. They contribute to poor health.

(3) Poverty

Annual median income is $2,600 – $3,500. Poverty affects 97% of Lakotans. Many families can’t afford essentials most people take for granted. In winter, many use ovens for heat. Simple luxuries are unheard of. Life is hard, merciless, punishing, and unrelenting.

(4) Unemployment

It’s 80% or higher. Government corruption, cronyism, and indifference destroy normal living opportunities.

(5) Housing

In winter, elderly people die from hypothermia. They freeze to death for lack of heat. One-third of homes lack clean water and sewage. About 40% have no electricity. About 60% of families have no telephone.

Another 60% of homes are infected with potentially fatal black molds. On average, 17 people reside in each household. Many have two to three rooms. Some homes built for six to eight people have up to 30 in them.

The average fluent Lakotan speaker is 65 years old. In another generation or less, perhaps few or none will remain. Lakotan language skills aren’t allowed or taught in US government schools. Nor is much of anything about native history and culture. America wants it destroyed and forgotten.

Lakotan struggle began with the 1803 Louisiana Purchase. They call it “fantasy” US history. France sold America 530 million Native land acres for $15 million. Lakotans owned part of it. They and other Native people weren’t consulted.

America’s winning the West involved invading, encroaching, stealing, and occupying their lands. That’s how imperialism works. It’s the same everywhere.

Throughout the 19th century (and earlier), Washington engaged in military, legal, and political battles against Native Peoples. Their rights were contemptuously denied. They were displaced and exterminated. That’s how today’s America was created.

The 1851 Treaty of Fort Laramie was systematically violated. So were provisions of all other treaties. From 1866 – 1868, Washington let the Bozeman trail go through the “Heart of the Lakota Nation.”

It was a short cut to Montana’s gold fields. Military forts were built on stolen land along its route. Doing so violated 1851 treaty provisions. Battles ensued. Washington negotiated peace. The 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty followed. Native People thought they won. Victory was pyrrhic and illusory.

The Supreme Court’s 1883 ex parte Crow Dog decision made no difference. The Court recognized Lakotah freedom and independence. It ruled that tribes held exclusive jurisdiction over their internal affairs. It didn’t matter.

The transcontinental railroad facilitated development, land and resource theft.

In 1885, Congress passed the Major Crimes Act. It extended US jurisdiction into Lakota territory. The same year, the last of the great buffalo herds were exterminated. At one time, they numbered 60 million. Native People relied on them for food.

In 1887, Congress passed the General Allotment Act (the Dawes Act). It ended communal ownership of reservation lands. It distributed 160-acre “allotments” to individual Indians. Tribes lost millions of acres. Wealthy ranchers exploit them today.

In 1888, Congress began prohibiting Indian Spiritual and Prayer Ceremonies. It was part of destroying Native culture. In 1891, a Commissioner of Indian Affairs was authorized. It was to assure Native People obeyed white man’s laws.

Many more abuses followed. In Lone Wolf v. Hitchcock (1903), the Supreme Court extralegally recognized near absolute plenary congressional power over Indian affairs.

It let US authorities steal tribal lands and resources freely. They did so on the pretext of fulfilling federal responsibilities.

Doing so abrogated fundamental indigenous rights unilaterally. The ruling was used to violate hundreds of treaties. Like other Native Peoples, Lakotans were grievously harmed.

Their sacred Black Hills were stolen. So were valued resources on them. Lakotans want back what’s rightfully theirs. Their ancestors thought the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty granted them victory. They were wrong.

Yet in 1904, even after Lone Wolf v. Hitchcock, some believed the Treaty was “the only instance in the history of the United States where the government has gone to war and afterwards negotiated a peace conceding everything demanded by the enemy and exacting nothing in return.”

Until the 1924 Indian Citizenship Act, Native People got what no one had the right to deny them in the first place. In fact, rights afforded them nominally never existed in fact.

The entire history of Native People in America reflects horrific struggles lost. From 1492 to today, they experienced promises made and broken. Disenfranchized people remain. Most are bereft of hope.

On reservations or assimilated, they’re out of sight and mind. Once they lived peacefully on their own land. White settlers changed things. Western civilization destroyed their way of life. There’s nothing civilized about it.

They’re either ignored, mocked, or demonized in films and society. They’re called drunks, beasts, primitives, and savages. America always was a white supremacist society.

Rich powerful elites run it. Native People and most others don’t matter. They’re systematically used and abused. They’re not served. It’s the American way.

Thats ALL non-European, non-English sovereign nations which have become so-called USA and so-called Canada. Does the UN know this fact? What the colonial Europeans and English did was barbaric and needs proper reparations instead of mere ‘Indian Reservations’. Shall USA and Canada be run by a Supreme Council of Tribal Chieftains from all territories on this map? All existing European and English people who did not benefit from or cause murder and slavery should be allowed to remain as citizens, those identified as having benefited should be repatriated to their home nations. A 600 year long holocaust occured here that history cannot bury and that has not been corrected or apologized for yet. (Caption by @AgreeToDisagree, Map from http://www.manataka.org)

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. His new book is titled “How Wall Street Fleeces America: Privatized Banking, Government Collusion and Class War”

The true language of ‘America’ is Native Ameri-Indian, NOT English. To be fair to the Native Ameri-Indians, perhaps all of the ‘5 Civilised Tribes’ should have a Governor each and a UN Representative of USA should be Red Native Ameri-Indian as well. A black president says much about USA today, not go even further and have an Ameri-Indian President neext (not those 1/8th blood types but as pure as possible).

Meanwhile Sabah and Sarawak should demand 100% disbursement rights and 100% equality for Orang Asli and access to ALL Special Privileges, to be implemented immediately or secede and get their own UN seat instead. Whats the point of not having a UN seat and not even being able to disburse your own states’ wealth AND being made into second class citizens without :

Whats so great about east Malaysia staying in Malaysia? The worst among Muslims force Islam on the Orang Asli who are vulnerable, and Malaysia’s APARTHEID Bumiputra system has parasited on the Orang Asli Chieftain-RULERS using Islam to a degree as a weapon of control via threat of violence to these simple Tuak drinking, boar bucaneering, Keris inventing, spirit-lamp using peoples, taken away their land via illegal laws that the UN would never approve or even sue as war criminals over (the Bar Council is asleeep as usual does not care at all), invited loggers that denuded the forests and planted dull and eco-diversity destroying oil palm plantations . . . whats the point for Sabah and Sarawak to stay in malaysia unless the above listed are granted immediately?

Any Orang Asli worth their pride as warriors (those Orang Asli made mincemeat of the oppresso-Christians before in Kalimantan didn’t they? Now Christian DAP is back again with more neo-colonial b.s.. . . . make mincemeat of the Apartheid of Bumiputra) will prefer to have a seat at the UN as a PM instead of as a DAP or BN stooge that only gets 5% or 15% (as CM of Penang Lim Guan Eng ‘generously’ – actually INSULTINGLY – offered 15% as being ‘better than BN’s 5%’) of THEIR OWN WEALTH?

Try the response to this article : Grievances of the Temiar tribe must be addressed – reposted by @AgreeToDisagree – Feb 23, 2012 @ 8:01- https://malaysiandemocracy.wordpress.com/2012/02/23/3719/ that belong to the nomadic and eco-friendly Orang Asli instead of plantations! Free yourselves Orang Asli! Give BN an ultimatum to grant the above or begin filing for secession at the UN. Chieftains must be intelligent and civilised men not stupid uneducated ‘natives’ who cannot even keep their religion and culture or lands intact! Get your sovereign seat at the UN if BN still wants to keep control, or if Pakatan refuses to change their entitlement mentality regards equality of citizenship and return of stolen lands!

Orang Asli Chieftains! Never accept this heartbreaking and heartrending treatment of your people’s anymore! Demand equality and show idiots like CM Lim Guan Eng or Minister Chua Soi Lek or MIC leading the Malaysian Chinese and Indian community cowards and colluders who dare not ask for equality how to be indepdnent equals in their own country by filing lawsuit at the UN for the above listed 3 items as well as all the above response’s listed demands! Scottish PM would-be leading the Scottish Independence movement, Alex Salmond should have a talk to the Orang Asli Chieftains about independence and how much a sovereign seat at the UN would be better than this ‘trash’ deal offered by Pakatan rakyat’s Guan Eng (who doesn’t even dare try secure end of apartheid for the Chinese on the Malaysian Peninsular) or Barisan’s apartheid and Islamic proselytisation and stealing of lands (especially ancestral grave sites which the Muslims seem to fear and try very hard to target).

Don’t dare say that non-Muslims, some here for tens of generations despite not being ethnic Malay do not deserve 1st class citizenships! Especially so the pureblood Orang Asli who didn’t intermarry with the Middle Eastern or ASEAN peoples, are the TRUE Nusantaran Animist MALAYS, not Muslims who were converted from Orang Asli and took Arabic names. No citizen should not be punished and disenfranchised or have any privileges denied them simply for having a different religion! Religion is disenfranchisement! Especially when the Constitution guarantees equality, the UN Article 1 which Malaysia is a signatory of, and the Social Contract states that Special Privileges were to only last 15 years before review and removal. How could 20,000 or more year old settlements be displaced then made into second class citizens by Muslim converts who too are Orang Asli, albeit now in mixed marriage (and without original malay names) to Arab traders who arrived mostly in the 15th Century? End the apartheid! The Orang Asli are your own REAL ORIGINAL Malaysians who have even managed to preserve their original Nusantaran faith! The original faith of Nusantaran Animism! Spiritual Colonialism is not something the Malays expected, but to deny the Orang Asli equality is just unprincipled. Finally Islam states that all citizens are to be treated equally regardless of faith.

Who’s a Muslim? Find your roots those who care and understand . . . that one can be a successful ethnic-Malay who is not a Muslim that deserves equal treatment, not persecution for applying Article 18 of the UNHRC. Know those roots without oppressing all other minorities with Islam. Find your real names as well. Before the Arabs came to Malaysia, what were real Malay names? Look to Indonesia and note the real Indonesian names as opposed to Arabic names. Spiritual Colonialisation no less!

The budding genre of left-wing conspiracy research, intuitively attractive as a unifying force to many, attempts to break imposed philosophical paradigms and to deprogram minds in a world traumatized and confused by the Illuminati’s biggest psyops program ever – the Cold War. This delicate task requires a historically-grounded progressive political framework which, while taking a backseat to realpolitik, remains pertinent.

While the mainstream left refuses to acknowledge any hint of conspiracy, no matter the number of footnotes; the Alex Jones “right/left paradigm is dead” crowd, while open to deep politics, leans right ideologically, enabling the banker cabal in its quest for global hegemony via 18th century mercantilism – the purest form of capitalism ever practiced.

It is incredibly naïve to believe that the Illuminati bankers wish to usher in communism as their economic model. The real world tells us that wealth is not being redistributed. It is being concentrated in the hands of the few at historic levels.

The left’s problem lies in naiveté and cowardice, and in its inability to deconstruct the brutal state capitalism imposed via the Soviet Union. The libertarian conspiracy crowd lacks a background in political theory – their Cato Institute is funded by the same corporations that fund the two major political parties. They too have been brainwashed since birth by the mysterious events that culminated in the Soviet Union.

An analysis of these events is key to understanding the Red Scare, which haunts an increasingly extreme right-wing American political landscape and hinders our ability to formulate practical economic solutions that incorporate both capitalistic and socialistic economic tenants. It also goes a long way in explaining the incredible naiveté of the American mainstream “left”.

In 1822 Russia’s Czar Alexander banned Freemasonry from his country. When Czar Nicholas took the throne he renewed the ban, but the secret society went underground and survived. Karl Marx was a member of the League of the Just which later became the Communist League. The group was an off-shoot of the Society of Seasons, which had close ties to the Grand Orient Freemason Lodge of Paris. Frederick Engel was a wealthy German industrialist. [714]

Marx and Engel were driven by the philosophies of Freidrich Hegel, whose now infamous Hegelian dialectic put forth a process whereby opposites thesis and antithesis are reconciled into synthesis.

Though Hegel’s philosophy was adopted by Marx, it was equally attractive to Adolf Hitler and the Rothschild Business Roundtable that sponsored him. The Roundtable saw in the dialectic a boon to their monopolies by presenting phony communism (antithesis) as bogeyman to capitalism (thesis). The ensuing conflict – the Cold War – produced a huge market for arms and oil which their trusts manufactured.

Genuine revolutionary struggle in the Third World could be labeled as a “Soviet communist conspiracy” and more arms could then be sent to depopulate the undesirable poor, dispensing of agitators who threatened Roundtable interests. The pure application of communism, which indigenous peoples practiced for thousands of years prior to the arrival of Annunaki invaders in Sumeria, was the real threat to the “special bloodline” international bankers.

By upholding Soviet state capitalism to all the world as an example of “failed Communism”, the bankers could discredit this dangerous idea while producing their desired synthesis – a New World Order ruled by the Illuminati banking families and Black Nobility monarchs, with laissez-faire monopoly capitalism as their economic paradigm.

The Russian Hohenzollern family monarchy to which the czars belonged wasn’t playing ball. They grew suspicious of the Freemasons, who they knew to be agents of the international bankers. In 1915 the American International Corporation (AIC) was formed to finance a Russian revolution aimed at deposing the Hohenzollerns and launching the banker’s grand Hegelian experiment. AIC directors included Frank Vanderlip, who two years prior had attended the secret Jekyll Island meetings that formulated the private Federal Reserve; and George Herbert Walker, grandfather of George Bush Sr. The families of Rockefeller, Rothschild, Du Pont, Kuhn, Loeb, Schiff and Harriman were represented on AIC’s board. [715]

WWI was looming and the Allied powers needed to open a diversionary front against the Germans. Russian Bolshevik leader Leon Trotsky left New York by ship on March 27, 1917, just days before the US entered WWI. He had with him a US passport, 300 revolutionaries and a wad of cash supplied by the Wall Street banker crowd. Twelve days earlier Czar Nicholas II had stepped down amidst an uprising launched by genuine anarchist revolutionaries, inspired by the writings of the Russian philosopher Kropotkin, who preached revolution followed by immediate decentralization of power, a sharp contrast to the iron-fisted state capitalist control under which Russia was about to fall. The anarchists struck fear into the heart of Wall Street, so they dispatched Trotsky to derail their Menshevik plans.

As Trotsky and his Reds sailed east, Vladimir Lenin left Switzerland in a sealed train with 150 more “revolutionaries” and $5 million in cash. The train passed through Germany without inspection thanks to banker Max Warburg’s intervention. Meanwhile, fifteen international bankers under Red Cross cover traveled to Petrograd to provide additional financing to the Bolsheviks and to make off with Russia’s gold reserves, just as they would later make off with German gold reserves following WWII and Chinese gold reserves after the 1949 Revolution.[716] Prince Lvov, who replaced the deposed Czar Nicholas II, and his successor Alexander Kerensky both publicly denounced Trotsky and Lenin as German intelligence agents.

The war between Mensheviks and Bolsheviks lasted until 1922. Some 28 million Russians died. The unruly anarchists were eventually disposed of and the Roundtable crowd launched its “antithesis” in Moscow. Trotsky and Lenin were likely unaware they were being used by the bankers. Trotsky fled to Mexico City, where he was murdered by Stalin’s agents in 1940. Lenin died in 1924. He had by then identified the powerful forces behind his ascent as “monopoly finance capitalists”. Towards the end of his life he wrote, “The state does not function as we desired. A man is at the wheel and seems to lead it, but the car does not drive in the desired direction. It moves as another force wishes.”[717]

John D. Rockefeller, Nathan Rothschild, Max Warburg, Jacob Schiff and J. Pierpont Morgan seized the new Soviet opportunity. Their Four Horsemen always had interests in Russia. The Rothschild and Nobel families discovered oil in Baku in 1898 with their Far East Trading Company, but anarchist oilfield revolutionaries burned their newly renamed Royal Dutch/Shell installations to the ground.

By 1922 Rockefeller’s Chase National Bank launched the American-Russian Chamber of Commerce. In 1925 Chase negotiated a deal with Soviet Prombank to market Russia’s raw materials to the West, while helping the Bolsheviks import cotton and machinery. Chase and its sister insurance conglomerate Equitable Trust led the way in providing credit to the Soviets, selling Bolshevik bonds in the US by 1928 with help from Morgan Guaranty.

Rep. Louis McFadden (D-NY), chair of the House Banking Committee, remarked, “The Soviet government has been given US Treasury funds by the Federal Reserve Banks acting through Chase Bank and Guaranty Trust Company…Find out what business has been transacted for the State Bank of the Soviet Union by its correspondent bank, Chase Bank of New York.”[718]

The chaos caused by the Bolshevik Revolution had been a boon to Rockefeller oil interests by eliminating much of Standard Oil’s competition in Russia. In 1926 Standard Oil of New York (Mobil) loaned $75 million to the Bolsheviks in exchange for exclusive rights to market Soviet oil in Europe. Mobil built a refinery in Russia.

In 1969 Rockefeller’s International Basic Economy Corporation (IBEC) – which later gave birth to the draconian Caribbean Basin Initiative – formed a partnership with N.M. Rothschild & Sons of London. Rockefeller’s partner in IBEC was Cleveland financier and industrialist Cyrus Eaton. The Rockefellers, Rothschilds and Eatons made huge profits facilitating Soviet trade with the West. In 1976 they signed an exclusive licensing and patent deal with Licensintorg, giving them a monopoly on technology transfer to the Soviets.

President Nixon forged detente with the Soviets and Chinese following the Vietnam War in 1973. That year also brought the Arab oil embargo, the pegging of oil to the US dollar, the launch of oil futures markets and the advent of a burgeoning Eurodollar market in London. Soon after Nixon held the detente summits with his counterparts Leonid Brezhnev and Zhou En-lai, Chase Manhattan opened a branch in Moscow and started a correspondent banking relationship with the Bank of China. [719]

Nixon appointed William Casey to head the Export-Import Bank. Casey was a CFR insider and leading Knight of Malta. He later managed Ronald Reagan’s 1980 October Surprise Presidential Campaign and was appointed CIA Director. At ExIm Bank Casey financed one of the grandest industrial schemes in history, the world’s largest truck factory at the Kama River in the Soviet Union. The factory was built by Pullman Corporation and was financed 10% by the Soviets, 45% by ExIm Bank and 45% by Chase Manhattan, where David Rockefeller was now chairman.

Chase risked nothing since its money was guaranteed by the Overseas Private Investment Corporation and Foreign Credit Insurance Association. If the Russians failed to pay the loans back, US taxpayers were on the hook for 90% of the Kama money. George Schultz – CFR, Bechtel and Chevron Texaco director who was Reagan’s Secretary of State – was key to the Kama River deal. Casey provided an ExIm Bank loan for Schultz’ Bechtel to build a Permindex-affiliated International Trade Center in Moscow in a deal arranged by Occidental Petroleum scion and Tennessee Gore political dynasty sponsor Armand Hammer. Other Casey ExIm Bank loans funded oil and gas pipelines and petrochemical and fertilizer plants. [720]

The US detente with the Soviets and China had more to do with a thirst for new energy supplies by the Four Horsemen than it did with grandiose statements of “promoting world peace”. China has huge oil deposits off its Senkaka Island in the East China Sea. Just northeast of Senkaka lie the Soviet Sakhalin Islands, an area that contains massive oil and gas deposits. The Soviet regions of Siberia and the Caspian Sea were even bigger oil prizes. As Chase Manhattan Senior Vice-President Albert Wentworth put it, “The Soviet Union is the last great undeveloped market for the US.”

Columnist Paul Scott hit the nail more squarely on the head when he wrote in 1976, “It is Kissinger’s belief that by controlling food one can control people, and by controlling energy – especially oil – one can control nations and their financial systems. By placing food and oil under international control along with the world’s monetary system, Kissinger is convinced a loosely knit world government can become a reality by 1980.”

Nixon Agriculture Secretary Earl Butz once bragged that through USAID’s P.L. 480 program the US employed “food as a weapon”, doling out food to nations who agree to follow IMF mandates, while withholding food from those who don’t. Just as Kissinger’s IAE benefits the Four Horsemen of Oil – Exxon Mobil, Chevron Texaco, BP Amoco and Royal Dutch/Shell; P. L. 480 enriches the Four Horsemen of Grain – Cargill Continental, Louis Dreyfus, Bunge and Andre. As Chilean Minister of Agriculture Jacques Chonchol said, “Whoever controls food exports controls the world.”[721]

The Soviet Union was an artificial construct cooked up by the Illuminati bankers to create profitable conflict and, more importantly, to confuse the world’s population in the arena of political economy. The Red Scare they manufactured has become a Red Scar on the American psyche.

[1] The Robot’s Rebellion: The Story of the Spiritual Renaissance. David Icke. Gateway Books. Bath, UK. 1994. p.160

[2] Rule by Secrecy: The Hidden History that Connects the Trilateral Commission, the Freemasons and the Great Pyramids. Jim Marrs. HarperCollins Publishers. New York. 2000. p.195

You say Lenin and Trotsky weren’t cognizant of how they were instruments of finance capitalists until it was too late.

Surely Trotsky had played chess with Baron Rothschild in Viennae, been cultivated by Schiff in NY-he even joined B’nai B’rith there-and finally married into these circles.

How could he not have known.

Lenin had conspired with Parvus in Zurich. Parvus pioneered the permanent revolution tactic during the Young Turk Revolution in 1908. According to Solzhenitsyn Parvus had “fathered a an anonymous resolution in the Soviet, its Financial Manifesto. What looked like a set of uncouth and primitive demands from the illiterate masses was really a programme of a clever and experienced financier striking at the foundations of the hated Russian state, to bring it down in ruins at a single blow.”

It was Parvus who’d persuaded the Germans to send the Sealed Train into Russia with Lenin and co. on it!

How could Lenin not have known of the plans of the Warburg financiers?

Isn’t there also evidence that Stalin was a Tavistock-trained instrument of the Rockefeller/Fabian nexus. He was at the Russian S.D. conference in London in 1907.

Who paid for Tavistock?

Interested in your thoughts on this………

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Subsistence food farming AFTER land distribution, AND growing and processing of fuel at the micro level (every family grows their own biofuel crop). The wealth distribution issue can be easily handled by ‘Counter-Agents’. So imagine every family with stockpiles of food and biofuel perhaps dating generations back enough to last decades while solar power further prevents grid overload as well as prevent oligarch contractor crony progfiteering off electicity via fat cat bonuses for executives.

But this needs the people to vote in a manner that distributes unused state land, preferably under ALLODIAL TITLE and after abolishing EMINENT DOMAIN POWERS, as well as removal of the Army (see José Figueres Ferrer), through selection of candidates that will ratify the above.

If there are no candidates, the people must offer themselves or if rich enough (the regular rich worth a handful of millions is quite grassroots still unlike the billionaire types), at least fund proxies to run on the above issues. Kissinger’s plan will fail entirely. Food and fuel security will be guaranteed and independent of all middlemen, there will be no militaries to order around.

mini-ARTICLE 1.5

US ‘is running a two-party, fascist regime’
Mon Oct 8, 2012 5:19AM

The United States “is running a two-party, fascist regime” where “corporations and the bankers run the country”, says the chief investment strategist of AVA Investment Analytics.

In an interview with the U.S. Desk on Sunday, Mike Stathis said, “It doesn’t matter who wins the elections. First of all, all U.S. presidents are puppets. They’re puppets of the establishment. The guys that make the decisions are in the shadows”.

According to a study by Gallup, a growing number of Americans believe there is an urgent need for a third major party in the country.

The desire for a third party is fairly similar across ideological groups, with 61% of liberals, 60% of moderates, and 54% of conservatives believing a third major party is needed. The mainstream Democratic and Republican parties agree on most crucial issues that affect American lives most directly.

“They are going to send jobs to countries that have cheap labor… in order to boost the profits of corporate America. When it comes to health care, both parties– Democrats and Republicans– are going to continue to allow the health care system to be run by Wall Street,” Stathis said.

ISH/HJ

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Quite easy to find out if a real Third Force man, or a liferaft party in formation if any term limitless types or GLC types or plutocrats are included in the party.

The unholy Quran ADMITS JESUS is GOD

ARTICLE 2

Nanny state or smart tourism? Rome bans public snacking – Put that pizza away. A new law prohibits tourists from munching, camping near some of the city’s most famous monuments – by CNNGo staff 4 October, 2012

Contrary to popular belief, this fountain in front of the Pantheon wasn’t built for tourists in need of a place to wash their greasy pizza fingers.

Rome might be one of the world’s best destinations for foodies, but thanks to a new city council ordinance tourists will have to keep their delicious slices of pizza away from certain historical monuments.

According to Italian newspaper La Repubblica, anyone caught snacking around key locations in the city’s historic center will face fines of up to €500 (US$645).

The move follows similar bans in Venice and Florence.

Rome mayor Gianni Alemanno said the order was issued as part of urgent measures to ensure the protection of the historic center. Because we all know the harmful impact panini crumbs can have on ancient architecture.

Snack-free zones include the marble fountains of Piazza Navona, the stone walls around the Pantheon and Via dei Fori Imperiali near the Colosseum.

More on CNN: Insider Guide — Best of Rome

And just in case you were planning to spend the night, bear in mind that camping for the night at any of these sites is now forbidden too.
Leave your padlocks in the bedroom, lovebirds

Last month authorities took bolt cutters to Rome’s famed Ponte Milvio on the river Tiber to slice off thousands of padlocks placed there by couples inspired by novelist Federico Moccia’s “Ho voglia di te” (I Want You), in which two lovers place a bicycle lock around a lamppost and throw the key into the Tiber, symbolizing the eternal locking of their hearts.

The city council, which officially banned the practice in 2007, said the rusting locks were damaging the ancient bridge.

Maybe smart preservation. Or maybe the Eternal City is fast becoming the kiljoy city.

Do you think such bans are justified? Leave your thoughts in the comments box below.

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While the Vatican is already a materialist enmired failure, these moves are quite appropriate. Eating and drinking (gluttony) are as unspiritual or plebian ( . . . sh1t happens . . . ) as anyone can get. And a place like the Vatican should be focused on fasting and discipline (also sexual discipline especially more so for paedophile priests) and not earthly issues.

Or maybe the Christian Eternal City is fast becoming the killjoy city?

Joy is not about food for foodies. Eternity far less so. Sleeping allows ‘travel’ and camping means one’s spirit ‘wanders’ at night (presumably some priests get to enjoy their ‘purity carnale‘ from travellers as well too much. Good rules! How about the Pope address 3rd world Malaysia about BUMIPUTRA APARTHEID with the Ayatollah as well? So much theft of consultation at least deserves this much in payment, bring civilisation to the Oompa-loompas of 3rd world nations . . .

WASHINGTON, Apr 17 2007 (IPS) – Some of the same neoconservative institutions that are defending World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz against charges that he unethically promoted the career and compensation of his romantic partner were among the most aggressive in attacking former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan for alleged nepotism on behalf of his son.

The editorial writers of the Wall Street Journal, contributors to the National Review, and a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defence of Democracies (FDD), a neoconservative group whose journalist-in-residence, Claudia Rosett, led the campaign against Annan and his son, Kojo, have all rallied behind the beleaguered Bank president, blaming his problems on an entrenched officialdom determined to resist his corruption-fighting reforms.

“The only way this fiasco could get any worse would be for Mr. Wolfowitz to resign in the teeth of so much dishonesty and cravenness,” according to the lead editorial in Monday’s Wall Street Journal, which offered a detailed justification for the former deputy defence secretary under U.S. President George W. Bush.

“We’re glad the Bush administration isn’t falling for this Euro-bureaucracy-media putsch,” it added in what was the second of two consecutive columns on Wolfowitz’s plight.

“Paul Wolfowitz is my friend, and one of the most decent, upright people it has ever been my privilege to know,” wrote FDD senior fellow and anti-terrorism specialist Andrew McCarthy in the National Review Online (NRO).

“If it were up to me, there would be no World Bank. But if we’re going to have one, we should be grateful that Paul Wolfowitz is running it, rooting out corruption and trying to change the culture so that helping the poor, rather than pushing loans out the door, is the criterion by which it is judged,” McCarthy concluded.

The approach toward Wolfowitz’s current difficulties by both the Journal and the FDD, as well as by NRO and Fox News, contrasts strongly with their attacks on the former UN chief and his son, who was first accused in an article by FDD’s Rosett in the National Review three years ago of having working for a Swiss company, Cotecna, that was awarded a 10-million-dollar UN contract in 1998 to inspect “Oil-for-Food” imports into Iraq.

That was the first story of more than 30 published over the next two and a half years by the Review and the NRO on Kojo Annan’s business deals and what it considered a case of blatant nepotism and conflict of interest on the UN chief’s part – emblematic in the neoconservatives’ view of the corruption of the world body itself.

The Review-FDD campaign was bolstered by Fox News and the Wall Street Journal, which itself published more than a dozen editorials and columns, including several by Rosett, citing Kojo in connection with alleged UN corruption and the multi-billion-dollar oil-for-food scandal between 2004 and the end of Kofi Annan’s term in office Dec. 31, 2006.

Indeed, when Rosett reported in another neoconservative publication, the New York Sun, in late November 2004, that Cotecna had continued paying Kojo Annan 2,500 dollars a month for four years after he left the company in early 2000 – which Cotecna described as a standard non-compete deal – neo-conservatives stepped up their calls for the UN chief to resign.

“Annan should either resign, if he is honourable, or be removed, if he is not,” wrote the National Review at the time, while the Journal featured an editorial page column entitled “Kofi Annan Must Go” by Republican Senator Norm Coleman who, noting Rosett’s latest revelation, as well as other allegations of corruption in the oil-for-food scandal, declared that “(I)f this widespread corruption had occurred in any legitimate organisation around the world, its CEO would have been ousted long ago, in disgrace.”

In the event, the independent commission headed by former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker determined in its final report published in September 2005 that, while Annan should have been more aggressive about looking into his son’s relationship with Cotecna once his ties were disclosed, he had not influenced the awarding of the contract to the company or known how Kojo had traded on his name to further his business interests.

The neoconservative role in vigorously pressing the campaign to discredit Annan for his presumed nepotism and force his resignation stands in sharp contrast to its efforts to protect Wolfowitz from similar charges in connection with his role in personally arranging an exceptional promotion and salary increase for his girlfriend, Shaha Riza, a senior World Bank communications officer when Wolfowitz took over in June 2005, as part of a package by which she was seconded to the State Department.

According to the New York Times on Tuesday, Wolfowitz may also have played a role in getting her a short-term consultancy with a major defence contractor, Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), in 2003, when he was serving at the Pentagon.

In its two editorials, the Journal has argued at length that Wolfowitz had tried to recuse himself from any decision regarding her career when he was first hired, but that he was subsequently forced to make the secondment arrangements himself after the Bank’s executive board and ethics committee allegedly instructed him to do so.

Consistent with a Fox News investigative report published online and aired over the weekend, the Journal wrote Monday that the ethics committee chairman, Ad Melkert, had effectively approved the secondment package and went on to suggest that Wolfowitz may have fallen into a trap set by the board to manoeuvre him into a conflict of interest.

Documents released Friday by the Bank make “us wonder if some bank officials weren’t trying to ambush Mr. Wolfowitz from the start,” it said, adding that “it’s clear that his enemies – especially Europeans who want the bank presidency to go to one of their own – are now using this to force him out of the bank.”

Michael Rubin, a Middle East specialist at the American Enterprise Institute who worked for Wolfowitz’s former Pentagon boss, Donald Rumsfeld, in the run-up to the war in Iraq, informed NRO readers that the Wall Street Journal editorial was a “must-read”.

The Journal and other supporters also tried to downplay the significance of what Wolfowitz had done. The Journal called it a “mini-flap” involving “ethical minutiae”, while Jonah Goldberg, a regular contributor to the NRO, referred favourably to a Los Angeles Times column by neo-conservative legal scholar Ruth Wedgwood, entitled “The Wolfowitz Non-Story”.

Wolfowitz and Shaha, she argued, are victims of a “mob mentality”, echoing charges by Victor Davis Hanson, yet another neoconservative at NRO, that Wolfowitz is “facing a lynch mob over perhaps a… one-time lapse of judgment in regard to compensation of a companion – nothing, however, ranking with the various scandals surrounding Kofi Annan, whose son profited by United Nations exemptions given through his family ties.”

What the scandal is really about is “payback for Iraq”, according to Hanson, whose views often reflect those of Vice President Dick Cheney, reportedly Wolfowitz’s main supporter within the Bush administration.

Ironically, the same was said by Annan’s supporters during the Kojo scandal. “The reality is that the current calls for Annan’s head are provoked by his opposition to America’s pre-emptive war in Iraq,” noted Ian Williams, the UN correspondent for The Nation weekly in late 2004 after Coleman called for Annan’s resignation.

Indeed, as the neoconservative campaign against the secretary-general gathered steam in the fall of 2004, James Traub, in a Los Angeles Times article entitled “Lynch Mob’s Real Target is the U.N., Not Annan,” wrote: “(W)hat conservatives cannot accept, at bottom, is the premise that an international body, even one over which the United States exercises enormous sway, should be allowed to pass on the legitimacy or legality of American actions.”

(NOTE: The reference to Michael Rubin of American Enterprise Institute has been corrected.)

That tears the UN, making UN all about nepotism. And such a pity that NAM is all about Muslims who obviously do not understand that secular people exist and have rights too. BRICS ready to take over where UN and NAM appear to be failing? Russia and China are too sharp witted for this to do them in are they? Socialism would expect at least this much – to prohibit the plague of nepotism as in Russia’s and China’s Iron Curtain style Laws against nepotism! The world is counting on BRICS and any Red Coats left in USA now! Live up to the name Wolfowictz, to the level where Wolves are, this is not about ‘WW3 Preppers’ or cool couples that live with actual Wolves, this is about Remus and Romulus, the Kittim Throne of the Archonic Planetary Intelligences that non-monotheistic Zoroaster knew well!

BRUSSELS, Oct. 4, 2012 (Reuters) — Regulators and operators should act now to improve safety at nuclear power plants, the EU energy commissioner said on Thursday, following inspections across the European Union.
European Energy Commissioner Gunther Oettinger speaks at a news conference on the EU Nuclear Stress Tests in Brussels October 4, 2012. REUTERS/Yves Herman

The stress tests, carried out in the aftermath of the Fukushima disaster, found safety improvements costing between 10 billion ($12.90 billion) and 25 billion euros were necessary in European plants, a draft seen by Reuters showed this week.

“We therefore think that we should talk together with operators and regulatory authorities to act rapidly so that the highest possible standards can be guaranteed very soon.”

One of the lessons of Fukushima was that two natural disasters could strike at the same time and knock out the electrical supply system of a plant completely, so it could not be cooled down.

The stress tests sought to avert any repeat of that series of events by establishing whether nuclear plants can withstand natural disasters, aircraft crashes and management failures, as well as whether adequate systems are in place to deal with power disruptions.

Among the findings were that on-site seismic instruments should be installed or improved in 121 reactors.

In addition, 24 reactors did not have a back-up emergency room in case the main control room became uninhabitable.

LIMITS OF EU POWER

Because EU authorities do not have power to determine the energy mix of member states, the stress tests were voluntary, but Oettinger said they would not just be “put in a drawer”.

“We are at the beginning of a new European safety dynamic,” he said.

He confirmed the Commission would follow up with legislative proposals early next year to enhance safety.

The proposals would include insurance and liability, but Oettinger said it was not yet clear what that might mean for electricity bills.

Austria, which banned nuclear plants in 1974, said the stress tests were “good, but not good enough”.

Rebecca Harms, a Green member of the European Parliament, told Reuters Television the stress tests report had dodged the tough questions, but said they had still served to highlight the problems.

“Mr Oettinger has done the debate on lacking security standards a great favor,” she said.

She added that the tests had “produced a handsome list of deficiencies, showing that there is a large deficit of security standards in every country that runs nuclear power plants”.

ASN, the nuclear regulator in France, which relies on atomic energy for about 75 percent of its power, was highly critical of the report, saying “some important recommendations had been ignored”.

It has already said France needs to invest billions of euros.

The chief inspector of Britain’s nuclear plants, Mike Weightman, who also made recommendations for improvements after Fukushima, said: The stress test process was a valuable exercise, reinforcing the conclusions we had reached here in the UK”.

($1 = 0.7751 euros)

(Additional reporting by Oliver Denzer; Michael Shields in Vienna; Marion Douet in Paris; editing by William Hardy and Jason Neely)

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EU no power? Rubbish. Charlemagne would turn in his grave, though EU has been particularly parsimonious for a power that wants to control Europe. If a nuclear plant in some 3rd world trash heap or corrupted 1st world colluding cut corner type nation is going to irradiate the world, destroying ecosystems and humanity eventually, the UN should send peacekeepers to dismantle the nuclear plant and bury all nuclear parts and place bans on that nation. Hear that peacekeepers? When that nuke plant blows, nothing on the planet will be left unirradiated, INCLUDING the UN peacekeepers’ families. Nuclear is too messy and likely spiritually wrong. Switch to solar or fusion instead.

The newly formed parliament committee for the mass media will include a public council of expert bloggers with audiences of several thousand users, the head of the new body has said.

The committee made the creation of the expert council of bloggers a separate issue in its program, LDPR MP Aleksei Mitrofanov said in an interview, promising to disclose the details of the plan in the near future.

So far, the politician announced that he wanted to include “popular bloggers of the Runet (a colloquial name for the Russian-language segment of the Internet)” in this group. He added that the bloggers’ sex or age will not matter only the popularity of the candidates. The consultative council will comprise those who have tens of thousands of regular readers, Mitrofanov promised.

Another author of the project, LDPR MP Vadim Dengin disclosed more details. He said the bloggers will take part in the discussion of all bills that concern the internet so that no one could accuse the MPs that they adopt bills without prior discussion with experts.

Dengin added that it was possible the council will include not only bloggers but also professional systems administrators and owners of social networks, both from Russia and from abroad.

The MP also said that he had personal ambitions connected with the plans – “I want to fight crime in social networks. I want punishment for the creeps who use social networks to corrupt our children, who fill the internet with pornography, who write mean things about people or publish unverified reports,” the politician noted.

The initiative caused little enthusiasm among bloggers. Dmitry Ternovsky, who was among the first candidates Dengin proposed for the council, told reporters that “he had other things to do”. Web guru and a top executive in the blogging platform Livejournal, Anton Nosik, said that he could not figure out the objectives of even the mass media committee within the parliament, to say nothing about the consultative body within the committee.

The news came as Russian authorities are struggling to introduce more regulations on the internet. In late August the leading parliamentary party United Russia suggested to amend the new law that reintroduced criminal responsibility for libel with an article that would prosecute anonymous internet users.

In November a new law will come into force in Russia that will allow government agencies to block access to sites with hazardous or dangerous information. Providers can contest this decision in court. Previously, a court had to agree the text or other material was extremist so a ban could be put in place.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

These bloggers will end up as proxy oligarchs on VVIP payrolls via manufactured hits. This problem could scuttle the logic behind this without a ready platform of access to telecoms records which again can be manufactured even if expertise of this panel is not bribed or threatened or of such companies will asset to or even be required by colluding MPs who would not ratify such requirements/vetting councils. Who watches the watchers watching the MPs?

Head of the Moscow Helsinki Group Lyudmila Alekseyeva (RIA Novosti/Alexander Utkin)

A new mechanism for forming the residential Council for the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights has been suggested after over a dozen of members quit the body. Now candidates will be selected through internet voting.

“A conference was called at the presidential administration yesterday, at which a new practice was proposed, and we will turn to the public, since the Council deals with civil society development,” said the head of the institution, Mikhail Fedotov.

A discussion of new candidates for council members will be opened on the organization’s website from July 1 till August 1. Within that month, any public organizations will be able to propose their nominees for the 13 now vacant positions.

Following that, internet voting will be launched, Fedotov said, adding that any citizen will have a chance to participate in it. A list of 39 candidates will be formed as a result of the internet poll and the president will pick 13 out of them.

“As for my personal attitude towards this new order: why not try that? Let’s do that. But to me it seems questionable, because in this situation the entire team of the Council should be changed,” Fedotov observed.

According to the rights activist, there is a danger that the organization might become unworkable.

Meanwhile, one more Rights Council member has announced their decision to quit:the head of Russia’s oldest human rights organization, the Moscow Helsinki Group, Lyudmila Alekseeva. However, she said she could reconsider her position in case the new mechanism is not approved.

“I’m ready to work in the Council if there won’t be this new supposedly democratic [formation] method, which in fact is sly and is aimed at the elimination of the Council,” Alekseeva told Interfax.

The Council – the presidential advisory body on human rights – originally consisted of 40 members. Its current team was formed back in 2009. However, over a dozen quit it after the December State Duma poll and then Vladimir Putin’s return to the Kremlin.

Several members of the Russian Presidential Council for Human Rights are planning to quit the body after Vladimir Putin’s return to the Kremlin.

Political analyst Dmitry Oreshkin made the decision to leave the council after his report on election violations was removed from the agenda of the body’s final meeting with the outgoing President Dmitry Medvedev on Saturday. The official pretext for the move was Medvedev’s tight schedule, Oreshkin told Vedomosti daily.

The rights activist, citing data provided by vote observers, stated that Putin got 50-52 per cent of votes as opposed to the official 63 per cent.

“I consider Putin an illegitimate president and I won’t be able to work in his council,” Oreshkin told the paper.

The head of Transparency International Russia, Elena Panfilova announced her decision to quit during the Saturday meeting with the president. She said she remained the council member only because she promised the mother of Sergey Magnitsky – Hermitage Capital lawyer who died in a Moscow detention centre in 2009 – to investigate his death.

“Now I think I’ll do a lot more with my civil activity in my current job,” Panfilova told Kommersant daily on Wednesday.

Another Council member, Svetlana Gannushkina – the chairwoman of the Civic Assistance organization that helps refugees – also said earlier she would leave her post in the body.

In December last year, rights activist Irina Yasina and journalist Svetlana Sorokina left the HR Council in protest against alleged violations during the State Duma poll.

Under the law, after the new head of state takes office, he is entitled to form all his councils from a scratch.

The chairman of the Kremlin council, Mikhail Fedotov said he was ready to continue his work with Putin if he is invited to. He stressed though that if “outstanding people” – current members of the organization – “are replaced with some kind of ceremonial bystanders or those who attack human rights, it would be a completely different council.”

“And I wouldn’t want to be its chairman,” Fedotov told a media conference on Wednesday, cites RIA Novosti.

Head of the Moscow Helsinki Group Lyudmila Alekseeva underlined that human rights activists’ work involves close cooperation with the state authorities. For that reason the veteran rights activist in Russia intends to remain the member of the council.

Current members of the body who will not be included in the newly formed one will form a public organization for the development of civil society, Alekseeva told journalists.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Quitting (much like refusing to vote) is for cowards or pro-establishment creeps. File suit or legal action. I’d expect Putin to prefer to stay out of the limelight after the 2nd term so as to better ‘re-KGB-tise’ Russia. One does not have to be President to control a place like Russia! Not very Iron Curtain-like . . . who are the real men in the shadows then if Putin is the frontman? Much like Ai Weiwei the Nudist in China, Russia need not even fear silly kids like these, but does need to have more venues for this sort of ‘steam letting’ behaviour . . .

Chris Butt, 30, has been refused entry to sessions because women are ‘sensitive to men being present
He is one of only 132 male midwives out of 20,000 in the UK

A student training to be one of the country’s few male midwives has been prevented from attending breastfeeding classes – because he is a man.

Chris Butt, 30, who is in the second year of a three-year training course, tried to attend breastfeeding classes run by the National Childbirth Trust (NCT) near his university.

But since last summer he has been rebuffed several times by local branches that have refused to allow him to attend certain sessions after claiming some women are ‘sensitive’ to men being present.

Rebuffed: Chris Butt has been turned away from breastfeeding classes

Mr Butt, who is studying at Bournemouth University, has had the backing of his course tutor and the head of midwifery at the Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester, where he is doing his on-the-job training and has delivered five babies on his own.

The Department of Health encourages women to breastfeed because of the health benefits, and midwives play a key role in educating new mothers.

Britain has one of the lowest breastfeeding rates in the world.

Even so, members of the NCT in Southampton objected to Mr Butt’s presence at the women-only class despite the fact he is a health professional – but said they would have no problem with a female midwife.

The NCT said he was invited to attend more open classes in which the male partners of new mothers also attend.

But Mr Butt – one of only 132 male midwives out of 20,000 in the UK – has criticised the situation in an article for Midwives, the magazine of the Royal College of Midwives.

‘I didn’t believe for one minute that I would be turned away from breastfeeding groups,’ he wrote.

‘Do the facilitators of such clinics think I practise midwifery in some magical way where I don’t see intimate parts of women’s bodies?

Do they think I stand behind a screen as a baby’s head is crowning, shouting out advice on when to breathe?’

Training: The Royal Hampshire County Hospital, Winchester, Hampshire, where the student is training

Mr Butt originally agreed to expand on his comments in Midwives but said he had come ‘under pressure’ not to say anything further.

The NCT denied it was against men attending breastfeeding groups.

A spokesman said: ‘He wanted to attend a women-only session, where there were no break-out rooms available if the women attending felt uncomfortable with a male presence.

‘We also offered him the opportunity to attend an antenatal breastfeeding workshop.’

One breastfeeding counsellor in Southampton said: ‘Chris has to understand that some women are sensitive to a man’s presence.’

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

One breastfeeding counsellor in Southampton said: ‘Chris has to understand that some women are sensitive to a man’s presence.’

There are men everywhere and men also have nipples that can actually produce milk for breast feeding as well (though not naturally). While many men might want to learn at a breastfeeding class, almost all men do not want to breast feed from their own nipples, though likely a small number do enjoy and engage in obviously male (though not male looking at all) ‘sexual oriented breast augmentation culture as ‘shemales’, while a fair sized number do enjoy shemale subculture (males with augmented breasts) in private clubs etc..

This sensitivity must not be turned into disenfranchisement by EDUCATING women who have these psychological problems. Political Correctness swings both ways. The same way women want to breast feed in public places without issue, nudists want to use parks or ‘doggers’ want to have sex in the open (preferably in designated areas or at least booths much like milk-nursing booths) have a right as well – while wearing kibbutz or hijab. To merely attend a breast feeding class in a non-sexualised class should not be an issue ESPECIALLY if the man in question is not being covertly (or overtly in the obviously disenfranchisable cases) sexual or participating for titillation purposes rather than educational. This is a HUMAN lesson, not a male or female lesson.

ARTICLE 9

Prison nurse who had sex with rapist in his cell while colleagues stood guard outside is jailed for three years – by Emma Clark – PUBLISHED: 20:36 GMT, 8 October 2012 | UPDATED: 06:48 GMT, 9 October 2012

Karen Cosford, 47, told violent rapist Brian McBride she loved him and couldn’t wait for their future together
Three of her colleagues knew about the relationship but kept quiet in return for promised money
All four were jailed for misconduct while at Wakefield Prison in West Yorkshire
Cosford’s prison negotiator husband Derrie Cosford found out about the affair when he was called to investigate McBride

Karen Cosford, 47, arriving at Bradford Crown Court, was jailed for three years over the sexual relationship

A prison nurse who had sex with a violent rapist in his cell while her colleagues stood guard has been jailed for three years.

A team of Karen Cosford’s colleagues were also jailed for misconduct after keeping her relationship with ‘evil’ lifer Brian McBride a secret – believing their discretion would be financially rewarded.

Married Cosford, 47, whose husband also worked in the prison service, sent the serial rapist a catalogue of texts telling him ‘you are my world’, ‘miss you so much’ and ‘can’t wait for you to get out’.

By chance her unwitting husband Derrie Cosford, a prison negotiator, became part of the investigation into McBride – who hinted of his wife’s lies and deceit.

The shamed nurse’s claims that she had been forced into the relationship were dismissed by a jury at Bradford Crown Court, who found her guilty of misconduct in a public office for the sexual relationship, failing to notify authorities that McBride had a phone and purchasing top-ups for him.

Carolyn Falloon, 50, and Jacqueline Flynn, 46, who both worked with Cosford on the healthcare wing at the high-security Wakefield Prison, West Yorkshire, were also convicted of failing to notify authorities about the affair and mobile phone.

A third colleague Kevin Wilson, 57, admitted misconduct in a public office at a previous hearing.

Prosecutors said the guilty officers were motivated by ‘greed’ and were duped by McBride’s claims of wealth on the outside.

Sentencing the group today Judge David Hatton QC said: ‘It’s a sad business indeed when four people with previous good character, public servants who have devoted years of their lives to their vocation, should find themselves being sentenced for having abused their
positions of trust.’

Speaking to Cosford, the judge said: ‘You believed him to be a man of means and planned on continuing your relationship with him on the outside until you reached the conclusion that you had been strung along.’

During the four-week trial the court was told how Flynn admitted during police interviews that she stood guard outside McBride’s cell while the pair were inside and had heard them having sex.

The court heard that McBride, who was serving a life sentence for multiple offences of rape and violence, was in the healthcare centre as an in-patient and worked as a cleaner while he was there.

The affair came to light when a search of McBride on September 25, 2009 uncovered a mobile phone charger.

McBride was put in his cell while a thorough search of the wing was carried out and four mobile phones were subsequently discovered.

In the prison kitchen investigators found a photograph of a nurse, who was identified as Cosford, and an unsigned love letter hidden inside a bag of sugar.

The jury heard that McBride became agitated during the search, prompting a number of negotiators working in the Prison Service to visit him – one of whom was Mr Cosford.

High-security Wakefield Prison, West Yorkshire, pictured, where Brian McBride was serving a life sentence for rape

One of the wings in the prison which holds 570 inmates, 70 per cent of which are serving life

During a negotiation McBride hinted to Mr Cosford that he had been having a relationship with his wife.

Mrs Cosford, of Altofts, West Yorkshire, later reported to prison authorities that McBride had raped and threatened to kill her family if she reported him.

She said she was forced to text the convict and write the love letter which read: ‘I didn’t realise how much I do miss you until I went on holiday.

‘You understand me more than anyone, we can have a wonderful future together, everything we talked about will happen, just give it time…

‘I can’t wait for us to continue our relationship outside of the confines of this place…’

Referring to him as her ‘knight in shining armour’, she added: ‘You are the most understanding, patient, manly, kind man that I have ever known.’

Wilson and Flynn were sentenced to 15 months in jail. Falloon was given a 21-month prison sentence.

Prison officer David Sunderland, 49, of Wakefield, was cleared of failing to notify the authorities about McBride’s phone.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Suspend the prison nurse for unprofessional behaviour for 3 years or fire the prison nurse. Not jail at tax payer’s expense! The nurse had sex with the prisoner which is not criminal though the nurse was unprofessional and needed to be at most suspended! As for commentary on the sex issue, this is a private issue except for the during working hours issue.

ARTICLE 10

THRONGS of men pack court house to catch glimpse of IT exec in sex-for-business case – Tuesday, 09 October 2012 16:08

SINGAPORE – ‘Star witness’ in sex-for-contracts case has throngs of men waiting outside court building hoping to catch a glimpse of her.

Each time she steps out of the car or out of the Subordinate Court building, you’d definitely hear the word “pretty”.

Inevitably, there’d be someone among the hordes of male gawkers asking another: “So how ah? Is she

The men, who were generally in their mid-40s or 50s, admitted that they turned up at Havelock Road for one reason: Ms Cecilia Sue Siew

Ms Sue, 36, was the prosecution’s “star witness” in the corruption trial of former Central Narcotics Bureau chief Ng Boon

The first part of the trial ended on Tuesday and it will resume on Oct 31. Ng, 46, faces four charges of corruptly obtaining oral sex from Ms Sue between June and December last year.

But it isn’t just the case itself that attracted the men who turn up at court during the trial.

Mr Lau Huat Chai, 55, confessed that he was there mainly to gawk at the star witness. He was waiting outside the court at around noon on Monday.

The part-time security guard said in Mandarin: “I’ve been following the case since the woman witness (Ms Sue) took the stand.

“She looks quite pretty in the newspaper reports and I was just curious. I wanted to see her in person.”

He had just ended his night shift at an industrial building in Lower Delta Road and decided to head over to the court.

Mr Lau added: “Once I see her, I’d go home to sleep. The court case? I can read about it in the newspapers later.”

Across the building, salesman Ivan Koh was waiting inside his Honda Civic.

He was stealing time off from work “since I happened to be in the area” to see if he can catch a glimpse of Ms Sue.

Mr Koh, 48, wanted to know if she was making an appearance soon.

He said: “I’ve been driving in and out of this carpark so I don’t have to put a parking coupon.”

Pointing to different groups of waiting men just like him, Mr Koh laughed and added: “Aiyah, you must think I am a ‘lao ti ko’ (old lusty man)… but eh, what about all the other men there?”

Mr Dickson Tan, who was there on Tuesday, was offended at the suggestion.

The 46-year-old tutor said in a mix of English and Mandarin: “Look, I’m here only because my wife told me it’s Cecilia Sue’s last day in court.

“And seriously, I don’t see what’s wrong in wanting to catch sight of a pretty face.”

Mr Tan added: “It’s like going to a publicity event and waiting to see a star, maybe like (MediaCorp artistes) Zoe Tay or Fann Wong.”

But others in the heartland that this columnist spoke to on Thursday and Friday were amused by the pictures of male gawkers and “kaypohs” (Hokkien for busybodies).

Madam Wong Siew Fen, 67, who sells eggs at a wet market in Tampines, said in Cantonese: “Terrible lah. If my husband did that (waiting outside the court), I’d be really angry.”

Her husband, Mr Au Teck Keong, 69, was amused. He said in Cantonese: “I can’t be bothered to go all the way there… but eh, is she really very pretty in person?

“I wish she’d taken off her shades, then we can see her eyes.”

And Ms Sue’s eyes were “so bewitching”, declared a man in his early 40s outside Court 5 on Tuesday morning.

Neatly dressed in a red polo shirt and jeans, he said: “A woman’s eyes are the windows to her soul.” He was upset that he came too late to be let into the packed courtroom.

Peering through the doors into the courtroom, he added: “All I want is to see my Cecilia.”

He refused to give his full name, but tried to get the media to talk to him. He finally gave up, saying: “Never mind. I just came here for my Cecilia.”

Businessman Joe Quek, 60, who was happily snapping pictures with his iPhone outside the building, summed it up: “The case is interesting. The details are so juicy.

“But it’d probably be less exciting if the witness is nothing to look at.”

He added: “Ms Cecilia Sue is different. She’s well-dressed, carries herself with style and struts like a model.

“She’s just like a star.”

-The New Paper

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Plenty of escorts prettier that can be hired and actually be accessible after being trained to strut or learning to dress, and who might even be loyal enough. Why even bother with this already attached woman? Make your own star of an escort much younger and ‘durable’ of your choice silly gawkers. This is media b.s. only beneficial to the ones who get to f— this woman, everyone else gets their energy sucked in by merely being there. Open your own IT business and get your own exec to have sex with, not be a hanger-on excited over people that have nothing to do with your business much less contracts that harm society. BTW those who mix work with pleasure are idiots and those who post false articles more so for selfish and undeserving reasons, will be the rubbish of society.

TAOYUAN, Taiwan: Dressed in mini skirts barely covering their hips, the two girls took to the neon-lit stage and moved vigorously to the loud pumping pop music. Their job: to appease the wandering spirits.

As the temple facade in the background changed colour from the fireworks lighting up the Taiwanese night sky, the show climaxed with pole-dancing and striptease in front of an audience consisting of men, women and children.

“This is hard work but I need to make a living,” said 18 year-old En En, out of breath after stripping for the crowd during the recent religious festival.

En En had just earned NT$3,000 ($100) for her act, which began on stage, but ended as she mingled with the audience, letting men touch her for tips.

Folk religion in Taiwan is a unique mixture of the spiritual and the earthly, and one of its most remarkable manifestations is the practice of hiring showgirls to perform at festivals, weddings, and even funerals.

The girls work on “electronic flower cars” — specially designed trucks equipped with light and sound equipment that can become a stage, allowing them to travel to performances often held in smaller cities and rural areas.

“The groups attract crowds to our events and they perform for the gods and the spirits to seek blessings,” said Chen Chung-hsien, an official at Wu Fu Temple, a Taoist landmark in north Taiwan’s Taoyuan county.

“They have become part of our religion and folk culture.”

At 26, Chiang Pei-ying is already a veteran performer with nearly 20 years of experience, travelling across Taiwan with her father and two sisters for their family business to entertain audiences — both alive and dead.

Chiang made her debut when she was in kindergarten because she liked singing and dancing on stage and has become a celebrity performer with her sisters, charging up to NT$80,000 for a 20-minute show.

She said she enjoys her line of work, even if she has to deal with some odd requests from customers such as walking around coffins and singing for the deceased at funerals.

“I’ve watched this since I was little so it’s nothing peculiar for me. Performing for the dead is just like performing for the living people,” she said.

“They liked to sing when they were alive and their relatives thought they would have liked to have somebody sing for them in the end. For me, I get good tips and I hope I am accumulating good karma too.”

Other performers, however, make much less money and tend to be more discreet about their job, especially those who still do striptease despite risking arrest.

Stripping nude is rarely seen in public now because it is a criminal offence, but partial stripping is still performed at festivals, private parties and funerals, people in the business say.

“Some people like going to hostess clubs, so when they pass away their relatives arrange striptease to reflect their interests while they were alive,” said Chiang Wan-yuan, Pei-ying’s father and a 30-year veteran in the business.

It is difficult to imagine a similar show going on outside a European village church, and some local critics have dismissed the practice, which emerged in the 1970s, as shocking and vulgar.

Others, however, see it as a natural extension of a traditional folk culture lacking in the sharp separation of sex and religion often seen in other parts of the world.

Marc Moskowitz, an anthropologist at the University of South Carolina, said the practice evolved out of the special Chinese concept of “hot and noisy”, which brims with positive connotations.

“In traditional Chinese and contemporary Taiwanese culture this signifies that for an event to be fun or noteworthy it must be full of noise and crowds,” said Moskowitz, who shot a documentary “Dancing for the Dead” in 2011.

He added most people who watched his work appeared to enjoy it and recognise this practice as an “interesting and unique cultural phenomenon,” which to his knowledge is only found in Taiwan.

“As I watched these performances, I came to appreciate the idea of celebrating someone’s life to help assuage the feelings of grief,” he said.

BRITAIN said Thursday it would end a 10-year boycott of the leader of India’s western Gujarat state imposed over deadly religious riots there in 2002 that left three Britons dead.

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, a right-wing Hindu nationalist, came to power shortly before the riots triggered by the deaths of nearly 60 Hindu pilgrims in a train fire that was initially blamed on a mob of Muslims.

He is accused of doing too little to prevent the blood-letting, which left more than 2,000 mainly Muslims dead in an orgy of violence and arson, according to rights groups. The government figures put the death toll at about 1,000.

Britain’s junior foreign minister minister Hugo Swire has asked the ambassador to India to visit Gujarat and meet Modi to discuss a “wide range of issues of mutual interests”, the British foreign office said in a statement.

“We want to secure justice for the families of the British nationals who were killed in 2002 (riots), we want to support human rights and good governance in the state,” the statement quoted Swire as saying.

Three British nationals – Saeed Dawood, Mohammed Aswat Nallabhai and Shakil Dawood – were burnt to death in Sabarkantha district of Gujarat, a state that is governed by India’s main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Previously, British officials were forbidden from dealing directly with Modi, but there were contacts with senior bureaucrats in Gujarat, where British companies have invested, an embassy source in New Delhi said.

Britain’s effort to resume links with Modi’s regime came less than two months after a Gujarat court sentenced a former member of his government to 28 years in jail for her role in instigating the 2002 riots.

The August 31 sentencing of Maya Kodnani, who served as minister from 2007-2009, was seen as a setback for Modi who is thought to have prime ministerial ambitions.

Despite the scars of the sectarian violence, Gujarat in recent years has lured foreign firms to its soil with reliable power supply, good infrastructure by Indian standards, and the availability of educated but cheap labour. -AFP

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

All Malaysian VIPs, MPs who fight for Bumiputra Apartheid (raison d’etre style), support Bumiputra Apartheid, tacitly approve via silence Bumiputra Apartheid, or allow Bumiputra Apartheid for financial gains, or discriminate against LGBT or practice Hudud or extreme religion, need a lifetime boycott immediately by England which should extend to UN as well. Can’t have such pariahs running about polluting the 1st world with fundo mindedness or apartheid now can we?

Orthodox Christian activists demand Moscow lawmakers prohibit the propaganda of homosexuality and shut down gay clubs in the Russian capital. That is in addition to a recent hundred-year ban on gay pride marches in the city.

The Narodny Sobor (People’s Council) movement has started collecting signatures under an appeal to the Moscow parliament asking legislators to work out a bill that outlaws the promotion of homosexuality. Similar bans have been introduced in St. Petersburg and several other Russian cities.

“We conducted a study earlier and found that such a law would not contradict international law. Homosexuality as well as its propaganda is a grave sin,” Oleg Kassin, co-chairman of the group told Izvestia daily.

First of all, “it’s necessary to close gay clubs” in Moscow since they “directly entice immature souls” into the LGBT community, he stated.

According to the paper, several city legislators vowed to support the move.

“We are ready to discuss the initiative with Narodny Sobor and to draft the legislation,” Mikhail Antontsev, a United Russia MP, told the daily. The bill could help to protect minors from “unnecessary information,” he believes. The deputy also insists that it is time to consider the adoption of a nationwide ban on the propaganda of “unhealthy relations.”

Another City Duma member, Vera Stepanenko is confident that the gay propaganda ban would help to solve the demographic problem in Moscow.

The Russian Orthodox Church also favors the idea.

“We have every right to maintain the purity of the society and to protect our children from all sorts of sinful manifestations. Both the Church and the majority of the community agree that homosexuality is far from being a normal thing,” says senior Church official Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin.

In February this year, St. Petersburg’s city legislature approved a ban on spreading homosexual and pedophilia propaganda among minors. The law – which was initiated and promoted by United Russia Deputy Vitaly Milonov – provides for fines of up to about US$16,000 for individuals and $160,000 for organizations committing such offences.

The move triggered a wave of criticism from the LGBT community as well as from human rights organizations in Russia and abroad.

However, Russia’s Supreme Court confirmed last week the legitimacy of the St. Petersburg gay propaganda bill and rejected a complaint filed by rights activists.

Earlier, the St. Petersburg City Court also refused to review gay activists’ complaints over the law. The opponents of the ban stated that the text of the document uses the terms “propaganda”, “bisexuality”, “transgender”, “traditional and non-traditional marriage,” all of which have no legal definitions, reported Interfax.

Russian gay rights activists are set to continue fighting and filed complaints against the St. Petersburg ban as well as similar laws in several other cities to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

This is not fair to the MATURED souls. Perhaps if the Church wants to, how about stationing a priest at the entrance of the Gay clubs to make sure that any immatured souls could be barred entry bouncer style.

Common sense dictates that this sort of blanket disenfranchisement is obviously unfair and that fundamentalism should be dropped for common sense methods of ensuring everyone wins.

Russia is not going to be a great or democratic power if 10%-30% of the world’s LGBT population (approx?) is to be treated as criminals because the Church deemed some souls as immatured and decided to end all entertainment to all LGBTs including the matured.

Why is the Orthodox Church behaving like the Ayatollah? Next we know Russia will be in the Dark Ages and the KGB will be running every state enterprise and business. Want to see Russia never regain footing in the Soviet Union or become an Iran? Christian fundos should not be featured at all in media. Frightfully uncivilised and heartrending statements.

Nigel Keer was arrested by PC Mark Buxton who said he saw a woman appear ‘distressed’ when she saw Mr Keer rambling naked
A judge dismissed the charge because a panel considered it unlikely that he had caused any alarm
He said the rambling wasn’t near a school or a street in a town centre but took place on moorland in broad daylight
Conviction is overturned just two days after The Naked Rambler was released from his latest prison sentence

A naked rambler has won a long battle to overturn his conviction for causing distress to a female dog walker who said she saw his genitals.

Naturist Nigel Keer, 42, will now be continuing his nude hiking – once the weather warms up – after a panel of judges gave a list of reasons to quash his conviction.

Mr Keer appealed after magistrates found him guilty of the public order offence of causing distress to the woman as she walked her dog at a beauty spot called Otley Chevin, West Yorkshire, last October.
Naked rambler Nigel Keer

Overturned: Naturist Nigel Keer, 42, will now be continuing his nude hiking – once the weather warms up – after a panel of judges gave a list of reasons to quash his conviction for causing distress to a female dog walker

The decision comes just two days after a man known as The Naked Rambler was released from serving his latest prison sentence.

Stephen Gough celebrated his freedom by taking a hike in his birthday suit through nearby Peebles.

He’s out… and they’re off. Naked Rambler freed from jail and back to his old tricks

The 53-year-old was jailed for five months after he was arrested in July for being naked near a play-park in Dunfermline.

Meanwhile, a judge at Leeds Crown Court told Mr Keer that his charge would be dismissed because the panel considered it unlikely that Mr Keer’s naked walk had caused any alarm.

The court had heard that Mr Keer was arrested by off-duty police officer PC Mark Buxton, who said he saw a woman appear ‘distressed’ when she had noticed Mr Keer rambling in just his hiking boots on October 2 last year.
Naked rambler Nigel Keer

Relieved: Bus driver Mr Keer, of Leeds, West Yorkshire, had denied the distress claims, and said naturism ‘is about body freedom’

Sitting with two justices on Monday, Judge Guy Kearl said PC Buxton, who said he had been shocked by the incident, would not have been able to determine if the woman was distressed.

Dismissing the charges, he added: ‘This behaviour was not carried out in front of a school or in the street in a town centre. It took place on moorland in broad daylight.

‘In view of the location of this incident, the time of day and the reaction of others as we have found it to be, we do not consider that anyone was likely to be harassed by this behaviour or intimidated or distressed.’

The judge said there were no sexual motives behind the incident, adding: ‘He was not deliberately flaunting himself or seeking attention or jumping out and doing what is colloquially called flashing.’

He said that the police officer’s reaction to seeing Mr Keer could also be considered ‘extreme given his experience.’

Bus driver Mr Keer, of Leeds, West Yorkshire, had denied the claims, and said naturism ‘is about body freedom and in a way it is a mild protest against the expected social norms of wearing clothes every day’.

Speaking after the case, Mr Keer said that he was delighted to have finally fought off the charge, which had kept him out of work for a number of months.

He added: ‘I’ve kept up the naturism, but I’ve been a bit more careful now. It’s a bit cold to be doing anything at the moment, but once the weather warms up, I’ll be back out there.’

Mr Keer has previously taken part in three naked world bike rides alongside other naturists.

He had first become interested after being sent a letter from British Naturism in 2004.

He initially thought it was a prank but he went on a naked swim anyway, leading to his love affair. He has even put it on his CV as an interest.
Rambling again: Stephen Gough, known as the Naked Rambler, was back doing what he loves yesterday – hiking with nothing but a pair of boots and a hat on

Naked: Stephen Gough was jailed for five months after he was arrested in July for being naked near a play park

When the case first came to court last October, he said: ‘I must admit that I was surprised when it came to court.

‘I don’t feel I have committed an offence or distressed anyone. People are a lot more accepting now than they were five or six years ago. On the whole, most people are quite happy with it.

‘I love walking about naked. It’s the feeling of being at one with nature and a feeling of liberation. If you are free of clothes you are free of worries.’

Artwork from Playboy. Way ahead of the narrow retards decades ago.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Suitable areas should be gazetted via maps which can be distributed to ramblers or ramblers on their ‘first offence’. Note that there really aren’t enough rambler friendly zones, especially in the central city areas. A nudist district in every international city seems about right . . .

Pop diva spent five hours with Assange and had dinner with 41-year-old
Chief Magistrate Howard Riddle said they had to pay cash by November 6
Assange has been staying in Ecuadorean Embassy in London since June
Wants to avoid extradition to Sweden for questioning over rape allegations

Pop star Lady Gaga visited WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in the Ecuadorean Embassy as nine people who acted as his bail sureties were ordered to hand over a total of £93,500.

The singer emerged yesterday morning after spending five hours in Assange’s refuge in west London. She had arrived at 7pm and it’s believed she had dinner with the 41-year-old.

Assange, 41, has been staying in the embassy in Knightsbridge since June after going there to avoid extradition to Sweden to face questioning over allegations of rape and sexual assault made by two women.
Meeting: The world’s biggest pop star Lady Gaga met with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in London last night

He said all those who offered sureties of varying amounts are ‘convinced that they have done and are doing the right thing’.

At the court yesterday, the Chief Magistrate said he accepted that they had all acted in good faith.

‘I accept that they trusted Mr Assange to surrender himself as required,’ he said. ‘However, they failed in their basic duty, to ensure his surrender. They must have understood the risk and the concerns of the courts.’

He ruled that each of the sureties had to pay part of the sum originally pledged, as follows: retired professor Tricia David £10,000, Lady Evans (the literary agent Caroline Michel) £15,000, Joseph Farrell £3,500, Sarah Harrison £3,500 and journalist Phillip Knightley £15,000.

Also having to pay money were Sarah Saunders £12,000, journalist Vaughan Smith £12,000, Nobel prize-winning biologist Sir John Sulston £15,000, and the Marchioness of Worcester (the former actress Tracy Ward) £7,500.

It was revealed last week that the police bill for staking out the Ecuadorian embassy has reached more than £1million.

Scotland Yard confirmed it is costing £11,000 every day to ensure the Australian does not flee his bolthole at the Ecuadorean Embassy.

The final bill could be much more as the 41-year-old continues to defy extradition to Sweden.

Officers have been watching the property in Knightsbridge, west London, since Mr Assange breached his bail and claimed asylum in June. They have been told to arrest him if he puts ‘one toe’ outside.

Ecuadorean foreign minister Ricardo Pinto has warned Mr Assange he could be in the embassy for a decade if he is not allowed to leave Britain.
Lady Gaga arrived at 7pm and had dinner with Assange before leaving just after midnight

Lady Gaga seen at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London visiting the Wikileaks founder Julian Assange

Lady Gaga arrived at the embassy at 7pm and had dinner with Assange before leaving just after midnight

WikiLeaks founder: Julian Assange has been in Ecuador’s London embassy since June as part of his bid to avoid extradition to Sweden

Critics have called on the Metropolitan Police to end the costly stakeout.

Last week, Foreign Secretary William Hague admitted there is ‘no sign of any breakthrough’ after meeting Mr Pinto at the United Nations in New York.

The comments came after the hacking activist accused the U.S. of persecuting WikiLeaks and torturing Bradley Manning, the soldier accused of leaking classified documents.

At least four Met officers guard the embassy, on the second floor of a block of flats behind Harrods in Knightsbridge, West London, around the clock.

They have set up a £250,000 mobile command station on the doorstep of the building and occupy positions outside and in surrounding properties.

Officers from every London borough, specialist police units and undercover squads have been brought in to join the open-ended stake out.

One colleague said: ‘The officers are being moved around every three or four days to stop the boredom setting in.

‘There are certainly plenty of other things these officers could be doing than standing there around the clock.’

Holed up: The Ecuadorian Embassy in London where WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been staying at the embassy since June 19

Interviews: Vaughan Smith, a friend who is one of the sureties, addressed Westminster Magistrates’ Court last week on behalf of the nine, who put up £140,000 between them
The Marchioness of Worcester, formerly actress Tracy Ward

Involved: Vaughan Smith (left), a friend who is one of the sureties, addressed a court last week on behalf of the nine. The Marchioness of Worcester (right), the former actress Tracy Ward, was also a backer

London Mayor Boris Johnson confirmed the policing bill between June 20 and September 10 was £905,000.

If the costs continued at the average of £11,000 a day the total would now be over £1.1million.

Critics called on the Met to end the stand-off but sources said the force cannot step back from its responsibilities to arrest Mr Assange for breaching his bail.

Jenny Jones, a Green politician in the capital who sits on a committee that oversees the Met’s work, called for the officers to go back on the beat.

She said: ‘It is ridiculous at a time when the Met is stretched as never before that so many officers are waiting around the Ecuadorian Embassy for Assange to attempt an escape.’

Lib Dem Caroline Pidgeon, who also sits on the London Assembly, added: ‘For 100 days Assange has been evading an arrest warrant for the alleged offence of rape and trying to escape the fair judicial process of Sweden.

‘At a time when police counters are closing across London his actions are a gross waste of valuable resources.’

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Good show but as always more media frenzy oriented than concrete action. In a nasty scenario, the po-po could intentionally storm in AFTER Gaga visits, then we’d have an ‘Unidentified Woman Arrested along with Assange, Both Taken Under Rendition Laws To Timbuktu For Interrogation” (one can imagine the about of fun the FBI would have . . . ahem . . . ) headline while the US media will be going on about how Gaga disappeared or cynically black out on news on Gaga posting some fake news and manufactured articles that make it seem Gaga pulled a MJ . . . maybe they will feature a 7 foot + tall male entertainer/rapper wearing glittery 9 inch heels featuring similar cosplay/fetish/art-deco clothing called Gargarensis instead . . . maybe someone in Asia will throw a dice that will determine if either make out of there in one piece, or pieces of mind . . . or if that dice is not thrown, yet more people may yet become ‘unstuck in time’, courtesy and expense of you-know-who, so pay up as appropos or Apophis will propose against the posers poseuring . . . as someone else would say – Mr. Apocalypse goes into overdrive even as Apophis is not finished with the woody hollows . . . ‘pumpkin’ . . .

ARTICLE 15

Dutch architect dreams of future floating cities – October 09, 2012

A street scene in Amsterdam is seen in this file photo. When Koen Olthuis landed his first job in Amsterdam after graduating as an architect, his new firm wouldn’t let him work on the most historic or prestigious accounts. He only got houseboats. Today, Olthuis, who along with building partner Dutch Docklands, designed a section of floating islands for Dubai’s man-made Palm Islands development project, has also created a patent which scales up the technology used for a houseboat to floating structures big enough to hold cars, roads and houses. – Reuters pic

AMSTERDAM, Oct 9 – When Koen Olthuis finally landed his first job after graduating as an architect, his new firm wouldn’t let him work on the most historic or prestigious accounts in Amsterdam’s 17th century centre. He got houseboats. Floating boxes.

But the young Dutchman, who stems from boat building and architecture stock, dove right into his new job, and it wasn’t long before he started making connections between the principles of a floating house, and the battle the Dutch have been waging against the sea to reclaim land and stay dry for 500 years.

He thought, if a house can float, why not an office complex or a structure big enough to hold a whole city?

Olthuis, who along with building partner Dutch Docklands, designed a section of floating islands for Dubai’s man-made Palm Islands development project, has also created a patent which scales up the technology used for a houseboat to floating structures big enough to hold cars, roads and houses.

“Water is a workable building layer or a floating foundation and if you turn water into space, which is a dramatic change of mindset, there’s a whole new world of possibilities,” Olthuis said.

He said the basis for his design isn’t any different than the normal Dutch floating technology used for houseboats.

“It is just a floating foundation, mostly made of concrete and foam which is quite stable, heavy, and goes up and down with waves and up and down with the sea level,” he said.

The floating city of the future is still a dream, but Olthuis’s firm, WaterStudio, which he started a decade ago, designs buildings and floating structures which try to combat the challenges posed by rising sea levels.

“Because of urbanisation and climate change, all the big cities have space limitations. We can create space with water, space that others have never even seen,” he said.

He said he wants to create space where land is under threat from rising sea levels and compares the methods for building floating structures to the invention of the elevator.

“If the elevator were never invented, then cities wouldn’t have buildings with more than three or four levels, because nobody wants to walk up more than that. But with elevators, we can climb 20, 30 even 40 flights.”

Olthuis’s firm has designed plenty of floating homes in The Netherlands and is laying plans to start building an entirely new floating neighbourhood with 1,200 homes.

It has projects in India and China and has begun preparing the lagoons for a holiday resort project in the Maldives, a chain of islands in the Indian Ocean that is one of the world’s most endangered nations due to flooding from climate change.

“We started thinking seriously about designing a whole floating island when we got a request from the Maldives, which are threatened in the long-term by rising sea levels, and they are looking for new development opportunities.”

In response, Olthuis’s team and building partner Dutch Docklands designed an estate of 185 luxury floating villas, called The Ocean Flower, part of a larger development across five lagoons, including a conference centre and a golf course.

The islands are designed to move with the waves and sea levels but because they are so stable, Olthuis said being on one of his artificial islands is like being on normal land.

“You do not feel any waves.”

The islands will be connected to the seabed with the same sort of cables used in offshore technology, for oil rigs, which lets them stay in one location and not drift away.

“The development in the Maldives is for a happy few who can afford to buy their own floating holiday home,” Olthuis said.

But he said that building luxury resorts for the rich helps to refine a technology that can in turn be used to benefit the poor in places such as Bangladesh, where flooding regularly destroys lives and livelihoods.

“So we let the rich pay for the innovation for the poor,” he said.

Olthuis said future designs could see floating structures detached and moved to new locations, or new cities, put together like a puzzle, responding to particular urban needs.

For a man who was told as a young trainee to “forget about houseboats,” Olthius’s focus on water has had a resounding impact on the way he looks at space and the environment.

“I am a Dutchman, and for me, Holland is an artificial country. It is all fake. We live below sea level and it takes too much effort and money to keep the pumps working 24 hours a day,” he said.

Olthuis said that within 50 years, it won’t even be possible to pump all the water back to the sea and reckons it is time for the Dutch to forge a new relationship with water.

“We need to learn to live with it rather than fight it. We should let the water come back, and then build on it.” – Reuters

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Require that all buildings be built on foundations 30 feet high (with consideration for settling of buildings in waterlogged conditions) or more in anticipation of rising sea levels. Valuable or historical buildings can be raised as of now. Hi-rises can be modified starting from the lowest lying buildings. When all buildings are raised or modified, the pumps can be turned off. When the sea levels finally rise, Holland would become a canal city rather than a road city and instead of cars they could have boats and gondollas! Very charming! Time and the tide always winning . . .

ARTICLE 16

Is the afterlife full of fluffy clouds and angels? – What does the neuroscientist Colin Blakemore make of an American neurosurgeon’s account of the afterlife? – By Colin Blakemore – 8:47PM BST 10 Oct 2012

Dr Eben Alexander’s conscious self journeyed into another world. There was wonderful music and light. There were clouds, “big, puffy, pink-white ones that showed up sharply against the deep blue-black sky”. Photo: ALAMY

Have you ever noticed that more people come back from Heaven than from Hell? We have all read those astonishing reports of near-death experiences (NDEs, as the aficionados call them) – the things that people say have happened to them when they almost, but don’t quite, shuffle off the coil.

They are nearly always pleasant and deeply reassuring in a saccharin-soaked way. Lots of spinning down warm, dark tunnels to the sound of celestial music; lots of trips along country lanes lined with hedges, towards the light of a welcoming cottage at the end of the road; lots of tumbling down Alice-in-Wonderland rabbit holes, but without the damaging effects of gravity.

True, Dr Maurice S Rawlings Jr, MD, heart surgeon in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and author of To Hell and Back, did have patients who reported very nasty NDEs after they came back on his operating table. Booming noises; licking flames and all that Mephistophelian stuff. But perhaps that tells us more about the challenges of living in Chattanooga, Tennessee, than about the metaphysics of life after death.

Predictably, the amazingly consistent, remarkably heaven-like experiences recounted by the majority of NDE-ers (yes, that really is what the experts call them) have been summarily dismissed by materialist sceptics – like me. Of course the brain does funny things when it’s running out of oxygen. The odd perceptions are just the consequences of confused activity in the temporal lobes.

But NDEs have taken on a new cloak of respectability with a book by a Harvard doctor. Proof of Heaven, by Eben Alexander, will make your toes wiggle or curl, depending on your prejudices. What’s special about his account of being dead is that he’s a neurosurgeon. At least that’s what the publicity is telling us. It’s a cover story in Newsweek magazine, with a screaming headline: “Heaven is Real: a doctor’s account of the afterlife”.

Just as you’d expect from a doctor, his account is precise and detailed. In the autumn of 2008, he contracted a very rare bacterial meningitis that he says made his brain “shut down” and put his “higher-order brain functions totally offline”. The soup-like state of Dr Alexander’s brain was, he writes, “documented by CT scans” (although CT scans don’t say anything about the activity of the brain) and “neurological examinations”.

Although the neurons of his cortex were “stunned to complete inactivity by the bacteria”, his conscious self journeyed into another world. There was wonderful music and light. There were clouds, “big, puffy, pink-white ones that showed up sharply against the deep blue-black sky”. And there were angels (well, perhaps birds): “flocks of transparent, shimmering beings”.

But then it gets really weird. It turns out that he wasn’t alone. “For most of my journey, someone was with me. A woman.” She had a lovely face and golden brown tresses, and she was dressed appropriately for a Cecil B DeMille movie, in peasant costume, in subtle shades of “powder blue, indigo, and pastel orange-peach”. She was quite a stunner. She looked at Dr Alexander “with a look that, if you saw it for five seconds, would make your whole life up to that point worth living, no matter what had happened in it so far”. It was a look “beyond all the different compartments of love we have down here on earth”.

Well, many of us, after a couple of pints in the pub with our chums, might say that we’ve had that kind of experience; but not with a woman flying on a butterfly wing, as Dr Alexander’s companion was. Although he “still had little language function” he was able to chat with the peasant lady, asking (understandably) where he was and why he was there. He was overwhelmed by the answers, which “came instantly in an explosion of light, colour, love, and beauty that blew through me like a crashing wave”.

After the clouds and the angels and the peasant lady, Dr Alexander went on to a “pitch-black” void, “brimming with light” from a “brilliant orb” that acted as an interpreter, explaining that the “universe itself was like a giant cosmic womb”.

You might have sensed a subtle hint of scepticism in my account. As Eben Alexander says, he considers himself a faithful Christian, and it’s therefore not surprising that he interpreted the chaos in his brain when he was almost dying in terms of his model of the afterlife.

His, and the multitude of other memories reported by people who have been close to death, have to be seen first through the prism of hard science. The crucial question is not whether such astounding experiences should lead us to abandon materialist accounts of brain function, but whether materialist accounts can possibly explain them.

Dr Peter Fenwick, senior lecturer at King’s College, London, consultant at the Institute of Psychiatry, and president of the British branch of The International Association for Near Death Studies, acknowledges that there are deep problems in interpreting first-person memories of experiences that are supposed to have happened when the brain was out of action. Since the lucky survivor can only tell you about them after the event, how can we be sure that these things were perceived and felt at the time that their brains were messed up, rather than being invented afterwards?

The same problem applies to dreams, indeed to any memory. Memory is notoriously fallible, and is treacherously easily misled by expectation. The cognitive psychologist Elizabeth Loftus has done brilliant experiments showing how the recall of real experiences can be transformed by what people think should have happened, and by what they are told might have happened.

In 150 years the science of perception has taught us that the way we appreciate the world around us is as much dependent on our expectations, our experiences, our inferences, as it is on the hard evidence of images on our retinas or vibrations in our ears. Remember the occasions when you have seen a face in the flickering flames of a fire, or been certain that you saw a person in the distance as you walked along at night – only to discover that the face in the fire disappears with the next burst of flame and the person in the dark is just a letterbox.

Is it not significant that the NDEs of Christians are full of Biblical metaphor? Either this confirms the correctness of their particular faith or it says that NDEs, like normal perception and memory, are redolent of culture, personal prejudice and past experience. Perhaps if Eben Alexander were a Muslim, there would have been the mythical 72 virgins on the butterfly wing, rather than the bucolic one. If he were a Buddhist he would be called a de-lok, a person who has seemingly died, but who travels into bardo – an afterlife state – guided by a Buddhist deity.

What Dr Alexander and his PR people claim is that his description of the afterlife is more authentic because he is a neurosurgeon. But when there is no evidence except the word of the beholder, a scientist’s accounts are no more reliable than those of anyone else. Would we literally believe the contents of a scientist’s dream because he or she has a PhD? If a scientist sees the lines of a visual illusion as wonky, should we believe that they really are wonky?

Science has progressed by challenge and disagreement. But what is needed to consider seriously the kinds of claims made by Dr Alexander is not flowery prose and hyperbolic headlines. It’s hard evidence.

But I am trying (not very convincingly, I know) to keep an open mind. I remember the story of the nobleman who asked the Zen Master Hakuin, “What happens to the enlightened man at death?”

“Why ask me?” said Hakuin.

“Because you’re a Zen master.”

“Yes, but not a dead one.”

Colin Blakemore is Professor of Neuroscience and Philosophy, School of Advanced Study, University of London

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Theory on Spirit and Eternal Soul

Inculpated imagery and studies will reflect in what a person experiences during a NDE. Speed of memory and recall also probably changes during NDE, allowing a person to experience LIFETIMES in the process. Actual death is of the body and the mind which allow perception. the SOUL however remains as so many philisophers say eternal and likely based on the EARTH’s magnetic and ionospheric field. All life and consciousness stems from the Earth though on the non-physical levels we may also exist but not in awareness of ourselves. Perhaps we ALL have a mirror image in Ethereal, Astral, Infernal and Celestial regions as well. When the body dies after experiencing the ‘visions of afterlife’, these portions of ourselves will instruct some living human-or animal bodies to have sex, and hence the immortal soul is reborn again . . . refutes or arguments welcome.

Art Moore entered the media world as a public relations assistant for the Seattle Mariners and a correspondent covering pro and college sports for Associated Press Radio. After graduating from Seattle Pacific University, he served with a Christian ministry during the “Iron Curtain” era in Eastern Europe for 10 years. His return to media included two years as senior news writer for Christianity Today before joining WND shortly after 9/11. He met his wife of more than 20 years at Wheaton College Graduate School, where he earned a Master’s Degree in communications. They have three children and a new son-in-law.More ?

The former Libertarian Party vice presidential candidate who has claimed Barack Obama was unknown to him and his fellow Columbia University classmates charges the president is using the Internal Revenue Service to punish and silence him.

Wayne Allyn Root – a pre-law and political science major in the class of 1983, like the president – told WND that despite a spotless tax record, he became the target of an audit in January 2011 when he received an “unsettling” call from an IRS agent who called himself a fan of his and considered it “an honor” to audit him.

Root won a complete victory three months ago in tax court, which found no taxes owed in his 2007 and 2008 filings. But then, he said, something shocking happened – something his tax attorney has never heard of in his entire career. Root was hit with a new audit just five days later, for 2009 and 2010.

“That order had to come from the highest levels of government,” he asserted.

“Obama is using the power of the IRS and other government agencies to punish his political opposition and intimidate and silence his critics,” Root charged.

Root has been a relentless critic of Obama in more than 4,000 appearances on political talk shows on TV and radio over the past four years, focusing on what he calls the president’s anti-business and anti-capitalist policies. He also writes columns and commentaries for many of the most popular conservative websites.

Root is now calling for congressional hearings “to determine if the Obama administration is misusing its power to damage or ruin the lives, drain the finances, or just distract Obama’s critics and political opposition.”

“It is time to demand an end to government witch hunts ordered by powerful politicians,” he told WND. “It is time to shine the light of day on government attempts to intimidate and silence political opponents. This just isn’t right, but especially to a small businessman who happens to have a media megaphone. I have a wife and four young children. This is just so wrong on so many levels.”

The IRS national media office told WND that Section 6103 of the tax code prohibits the agency from discussing matters relating to any taxpayer. An IRS media officer said she also would not be able to comment, in general terms, on accusations that the agency is being used by the administration to punish political enemies.

Purchase a copy of “Fool Me Twice” by Aaron Klein and Brenda Elliott and receive a FREE copy of their New York Times bestseller “The Manchurian President.”

Root began his career as network oddsmaker for CNBC, then called Financial News Network. He’s one of only 60 people to have a star on the Las Vegas Walk of Stars.

He believes he’s not alone, contending there is a pattern of abuse by Obama, targeting foes with IRS audits and government investigations.

He’s had numerous conversations with high-profile friends who contribute to the Republican Party or are GOP bundlers and also have been audited by the IRS.

Root cited, as an example, billionaire Frank VanderSloot, who became the target of investigations by both the IRS and the Labor Department after he gave $1 million to a super PAC that supports Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney.

VanderSloot, 63, told the Wall Street Journal in July that he has been working since his teens, and neither he nor his accountants recall his being previously subject to a federal tax audit.

The GOP’s biggest donor, Las Vegas casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, believes a federal criminal investigation into his company’s business practices is politically motivated. Another casino giant, Steve Wynn, also is being investigated.

The D.C. watchdog Judicial Watch obtained IRS documents in 1999 that showed an audit of the non-profit Western Journalism Center – the parent of WND, which now has no affiliation – originated with a complaint forwarded to the IRS by the Bill Clinton White House.

The complaint had been faxed by a California resident directly to Clinton, Judicial Watch found. Once the audit began, an IRS agent told representatives of the Western Journalism Center that the audit was “political” and that decisions on the audit were being made out of the “national office.”

The Wall Street Journal and National Public Radio reported in the 1990s that under the Clinton IRS, an unusually large number of organizations critical of the Clinton administration had been audited, while no liberal organizations had been examined. A White House document, created by then-White House lawyer Jane Sherburne, showed that the Western Journalism Center was a concern as far back as 1994.

No sign of Obama at Columbia

Root noted he drew wide attention as the Libertarian Party vice presidential candidate in 2008 when he contended that although he and Obama were both pre-law and political science majors in Columbia’s class of 1983, he never even heard of Obama during his time at the university. None of the classmates with whom he’s spoken, knew of him either, he claimed. A 2008 Wall Street Journal article cited a Fox News survey of 400 people who were Columbia students from 1981 to 1983 and found no one who remembered him.

On the campaign trail, Root predicted Obama would follow the radical, collectivist strategy of former Columbia professors Richard Cloward and Frances Fox Piven to overwhelm the welfare system for the purpose of collapsing it and replacing it with a system of guaranteed annual income.

Columbia University in New York City

Root declared in 2008 that Obama “is going to try to badly damage the economy and bankrupt the business community,” sowing doubts about capitalism, by “overwhelming the system with spending, addicting a record number of Americans to entitlements, exploding the debt, demonizing business owners, and then trying to convince the masses to redistribute wealth (with massive tax increases).”

After the election, he published more predictions that Obama would carry out a purposeful plan to overwhelm the system, including a commentary, “The Real Obama Economic Plan: Overwhelming the System to Destroy Capitalism,” that ranked No. two for many months in 2010 on Snopes.com’s list of the most popular stories circulating the Internet. Another Root commentary, “Obama The Great Jobs Killer,” was quoted by Time magazine.

He has made frequent appearances on the Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network, debated a former Clinton White House press secretary on CNBC and appeared on left-leaning media outlets, such as MSNBC and CNN, including “Larry King Live.”

On an NBC special, “Inside the Obama White House,” he pointed out, NBC’s cameras showed the entire Obama staff in crisis mode over political pundits criticizing the controversial comments of Obama Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayer. The scene in the special happened to feature a shot of Root criticizing Sotomayer in an appearance on the Fox News Channel.

In a commentary just two months ago, Root repeated his charge that Obama was unknown at Columbia, issuing a call for the president to release his college records. Calling himself “one of the most accurate Las Vegas oddsmakers and prognosticators,” Root wrote that it’s his “gut instinct” that “Obama has a secret hidden at Columbia.” He discussed the column on Fox News, dozens of national radio shows and in numerous commentaries on the Web. Talk host Rush Limbaugh read Root’s column on the air.

Last month, Root announced that he was stepping down from his positions in the Libertarian Party to focus on helping elect Republicans to office who share his small-government values. He reasoned that it’s not enough to have a “philosophical foundation rooted in liberty” if you can’t win as a third-party candidate. He made the formal announcement on the Fox News morning show “Fox & Friends.”

‘Zero odds’

Root told WND he believes the audits were a direct attack from Obama, because “the odds are zero” that the IRS “would be hounding and harassing a small businessman … not a jet setter, not a Fortune 500 CEO, not a billionaire … just a small-businessman who happens to be an outspoken critic of Obama.”

“I have a perfect tax history,” he emphasized. “Not a single blemish. Thirty years of filing taxes without a problem.”

Prior to the January 2011 audit, he said he had been chosen at random for an audit only twice in his life and came away both times owing “not a single dollar.”

“I’ve never been late with a tax bill in my life,” he argued. “I’ve never owed money on a payment plan to the IRS. Nothing. I’m a model citizen and taxpayer for 30 years. And now this?”

His ordeal began in January 2011, he said, with an “unsettling” call from an IRS agent that became “a highly unusual and intimidating situation.”

The IRS agent called his home and left a message, Root said, then, without waiting for a response, immediately called his accountant.

“We were both shocked at how eager and excited he sounded to get started,” Root said.

The accountant told the agent to never call Root again, because the accountant had power of attorney. Nevertheless, according to Root, the agent called Root minutes later at his home to tell him he was a big fan, had requested to do the audit and was “honored” to be auditing him.

“He said he read my political columns in the Las Vegas newspaper, listened to me often on the radio, often went to my website,” Root said.

The agent said he loved Root’s libertarian-conservative politics and agreed with most everything he said.

“I found that very strange, actually chilling,” Root told WND. “It did not feel right. I got a sick feeling in pit of my stomach. Why would an IRS agent say such personal things? Why would he disclose that he’s a fan of mine and agrees with my politics? Isn’t that a conflict of interest?”

Root said his accountant remarked that in 30 years of dealing with IRS audits, he had never heard of an IRS agent starting an investigation with a phone call to the taxpayer. All audits begin with a letter from the IRS through the mail. The next steps, Root said, were even stranger, as the agent immediately called the accountant then called Root again to tell him he liked his politics and was “honored” to be auditing him? Root’s accountant said he found the agent’s actions highly unusual.

“That was the tipoff something was out of the ordinary, something just wasn’t right,” said Root.

Root said the only conclusion he could draw was that the agent was imitating “Columbo,” the famous TV detective from the 1970s, “and trying to throw me off the truth.

The agent, he said may have been “ordered to make my life very difficult, distract me or destroy me, and he decided to play ‘Columbo’ to try, first, to befriend me and get my guard down.”

“I knew then this was no ordinary audit,” Root said.

Root’s accountant called back a few weeks later, after dealing with the IRS agent, to inform him that it was unlike any audit he had ever experienced. The accountant advised Root to immediately get a tax lawyer to protect himself.

“I knew at that moment that all my gut instincts were correct,” Root said.

“This agent clearly had an agenda,” Root continued. “He was acting unreasonably. He disregarded facts. He simply disallowed virtually all of my legal deductions. There was even a debate over my mortgage deduction. Something was very wrong here. This was a classic case of government persecution. Soon the agent was auditing a second year. It got worse with each conversation.”

Just weeks later, Root said, his accountant, himself, received his own IRS audit notice.

Root researched and interviewed the top tax attorneys in the country, emphasizing he hired “the best.” His tax attorney reviewed the audit and concluded that the IRS agent was “taking an unusually aggressive stance,” and Root owed no taxes.

The attorney appealed the case to the IRS tax court in California. Root said that after nearly 18 months of “sleepless nights, lawyer bills I could not afford, accounting bills I could not afford, and damage to my marriage,” he won “a full and complete victory.”

He added: “Who knows how many years off my life I lost due to stress?”

“Are you sitting down?” Root recalled the attorney saying. “I don’t know what to say, but the IRS just contacted me. You’re being audited again.”

Root noted that just five days before he had won a complete victory for the years 2007 and 2008 and now was being audited for the 2009 and 2010 tax years.

His tax attorney said that he had never heard of such a case in all his years practicing law.

Root said the new IRS agent handling the new audit treated his attorney with disdain and, like the previous agent, simply ignored the facts and denied every legal deduction on Root’s tax return.

“It was the same treatment all over again,” Root said. “Even though we had just won a complete, 100-percent victory only five days before.”

Root said that “as a man who makes his living making predictions and beating the odds,” he is betting 1-million-to-1 that the audits were ordered “by Obama or his henchmen.”

‘Chicago style’

Root insists he is not angry with the IRS but blames Obama and “his Chicago style of politics – to persecute, intimidate and destroy the opposition.”

“The IRS is filled with good people,” he said. “They are just like you and me. They are just trying to do their jobs, as best they can.”

However, he said, when “they get a call from high above, perhaps from the office of the president of the United States, then they are fearful for their job.”

“My outrage is towards President Obama and his henchmen,” Root said.

“This is so wrong on so many levels. Whoever ordered this against me and against many other Obama critics across this country – and against GOP donors across this country and against so many tea parties – should be held accountable.”

He said it’s “time for congressional hearings.”

“The president of the United States has no right to target his political opposition, or to try to freeze free speech,” he said. “Our Founding Fathers would be rolling over in their graves.”

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Spiritual Theory Based Around Synchronicity

Someone ‘that was’ Root cheated elsewhere, so Obama knowing the esoterica on synchronicity (for certain all greek alphabet society illuminati types do), had to act. The game company was to be blamed. The only way for evil to end is for EQUALITY to rule and those who follow rules to win. Any attempt to cheat in the system results in ‘Unfortunate Series of Events”, with any protagonists in the right, even if their actions were wrong. This is the start of wisdom and this is the only evil tolerable, without which Good cannot exist. Obama does system based spiritual housekeeping. Root is not directly to blame, being affected by the players of the “game”.

A lowest caste ‘labourer’ becomes VP of a political party, little wonder Heavens fall and Lands break when the ethereal characters at the top of simple hierarchies intended for fun are depicted act . . . a serious study of spiritual effects and links to online games must be carried out and INCLUDED IN EDUCATIONAL SYLLABUS, so that people can enjoy games and yet not destroy themselves and the world or the natural system and order of reality as we know it. Meanwhile though note that ‘games’ will have as much effect as the uncorrected Crony-Prison Supplier-Contractor Complex, Financier Student Debt Complex and those who neglected to amend laws or abolosh abusive laws liek Forced Military Conscriptions, Road Tolls ending freedom of movement and laws that impinge on the sovereignty of all individuals like Eminent Domain or lack of Allodial titles . . . refutes or arguments welcome.

A speech-jamming gun by Japanese researchers. They say the gun can be useful for “facilitate discussion” or “mobile speech-jamming”.

New speech-jamming gun hints at dystopian Big Brother future – by Sebastian Anthony on March 1, 2012 at 6:37 am

Japanese researchers have created a hand-held gun (pictured above) that can jam the words of speakers who are more than 30 meters (100ft) away. The gun has two purposes, according to the researchers: At its most basic, this gun could be used in libraries and other quiet spaces to stop people from speaking — but its second application is a lot more chilling.

The researchers were looking for a way to stop “louder, stronger” voices from saying more than their fair share in conversation. The paper reads: “We have to establish and obey rules for proper turn-taking when speaking. However, some people tend to lengthen their turns or deliberately interrupt other people when it is their turn in order to establish their presence rather than achieve more fruitful discussions. Furthermore, some people tend to jeer at speakers to invalidate their speech.” In other words, this speech-jamming gun was built to enforce “proper” conversations.

The gun works by listening in with a directional microphone, and then, after a short delay of around 0.2 seconds, playing it back with a directional speaker. This triggers an effect that psychologists call Delayed Auditory Feedback (DAF), which has long been known to interrupt your speech (you might’ve experienced the same effect if you’ve ever heard your own voice echoing through Skype or another voice comms program). According to the researchers, DAF doesn’t cause physical discomfort, but the fact that you’re unable to talk is obviously quite stressful.

Speech jammer, in a library. Suffice it to say, if you’re a firm believer in free speech, you should now be experiencing a deafening cacophony of alarm bells. Let me illustrate a few examples of how this speech-jamming gun could be used.

At a political rally, an audience member could completely lock down Santorum, Romney, Paul, or Obama from speaking. On the flip side, a totalitarian state could point the speech jammers at the audience to shut them up. Likewise, when a celebrity or public figure appears on a live TV show, his contract could read “the audience must be silenced with speech jammers.”

Then there’s Harrison Bergeron, one of my favorite short stories by Kurt Vonnegut. In the story’s dystopian universe, everyone wears “handicaps” to ensure perfect social equality. Strong people must lug around heavy weights, beautiful people must wear masks, and intelligent people must wear headphones that play a huge blast of sound every few seconds, interrupting your thoughts. The more intelligent you are, the more regular the blasts.

Back here in our universe, it’s not hard to imagine a future where we are outfitted with a variety of implanted electronics or full-blown bionic organs. Just last week we wrote about Google’s upcoming augmented-reality glasses, which will obviously have built-in earbuds. Late last year we covered bionic eyes that can communicate directly with the brain, and bionic ears and noses can’t be far off.

In short, imagine if a runaway mega-corporation or government gains control of these earbuds. Not only could the intelligence-destroying blasts from Harrison Bergeron come to pass, but with Delayed Auditory Feedback it would be possible to render the entire population mute. Well, actually, that’s a lie: Apparently DAF doesn’t work with utterances like “ahhh!” or “boooo!” or other non-wordy constructs. So, basically, we’d all be reduced to communicating with grunts and gestures.

This is how incriminating thoughts can even be inserted into unsuspecting mind. Remember that the mind’s signals etc. are all probably replicable via neurotech. So when a brain is repeatedly inculpated with certain patterns of thought, we end up with no autonomy at all. While the bottom 70% are busy working, the top 30% no-working classes are busy ‘molding’ those working class minds into the form they want. To accept bad laws, to ignore nepotism, to ignore oligarchy, to be bribable, corrupt etc. and the top 1% will print all the fiat and bribe, while destroying the finance system and controlling those bought with wealth as well as poisoning the food via food manufactuers putting all kinds of colourings and flavourings and GMOs in food that destroy critical thought by weakening the blood brain barrier, flouridating the pineal etc..

Causing ‘grunts and gestures’ by the ‘Speech Gun’ will then be used by the colluding psychiatric establishment to label potential challengers of the insane system ‘insane’, even getting political party members whop happen to be neighbours or to move into the neighbourhood to harrass, and disturb, provoke into retaliating (preferably with enforcement actionable actions – the foul minded creeps know who they are) . . . then justify drugging the dissenters with dangerous mind destroying psychiatric drugs etc. if killing such persons is too obvious to further render them incapable of being a viable challenge. I know I have been there and that was for promoting things as responded to in this blog. And this is not even the spiritual dimension of the matter as well which goes deep into the nature of society, the caste system, and those of ‘dirty spirituality’ which is not the same as physical dirt or even jobs considered disresepectable.

Meanwhile though, the financial system will indeed collapse, then riots and war can break out etc.. and when every last clear thinking or critical thinking person is bought up or killed, destroyed, rendered politically non-viable, the oligarchs will place their sons and daughters in political positions while fawning political members in the respective political parties fearfull do not speak up due to ‘Supremos’ and Oligarchs, use neurotech against all dissentors, use NLP articles in news/radio, use neurotech to identify dissenting minds which are critical to democracy etc..

DO NOT VOTE FOR FIAT PROTECTING, GLC PROXY LINKED, MORE THAN 2 TERM, PLUTOCRAT, ALLODIAL REFUSING, FORCED CONSCRIPTION PURVEYING, STATE LAND/NATIONAL WEALTH SEQUESTERING MPs or candidates. They only care about themselves and will never protect the people will end the people’s free will with technology the instance such technolgies are sufficiently proliferated! Vote carefully and don’t care about who’s likable but who will protect democracy and diversity than anything else!

A bionic prosthetic eye that speaks the language of your brain – by Sebastian Anthony on December 21, 2011 at 3:44 pm

They probably can tap into what one is seeing as well . . . so the end of privacy is here and unless voters vote properly, there will be a new form of dictator – the Technofascist who will decide even what you think.

In the grand scale of things, we know so very little about the brain. Our thick-headedness isn’t quite cosmological in scale — we really do know almost nothing about the universe beyond Earth — but, when it comes down to it, the brain is virtually a black box. We know that stimuli goes in, usually through one of our senses, and motor neurons come out, but that’s about it. One thing you can do with a black box, however, is derive some semblance of a working model through brute force testing.

Take prosthetic arms, for example: We don’t have a clue about the calculations that occur in the brain to trigger arm muscle motor neurons, but that doesn’t stop us from slapping some electrodes onto a subject’s bicep muscles and measuring the electric pulses that occur when you tell him to “think about moving your arm.” By the same logic, a brain-computer interface can measure what our general cranial activity looks like when we’re thinking something and react accordingly, but it can only do this through training; it can’t actually understand our thoughts. Taking this one step further, though, Sheila Nirenberg of Cornell University has been trying to work out how the retina in your eye communicates with your brain — and judging by a recent talk at TEDMED (embedded below), it seems like she’s actually cracked it.

Now, reading the brain’s output (as in a prosthetic arm) is one thing, but feeding data into the brain is something else entirely — and understanding the signals that travel from the retina, through the optic nerve, to the brain is really about as bleeding edge as it gets. Nirenberg still used a brute force technique, though: By taking a complete animal eye and attaching electrodes to the optic nerve, she measured the electric pulses — the coded signal — that a viewed image makes. You might not know what the code means, but if a retina always generates the same electric code when looking at a lion, and a different code when looking at a bookcase, you can then work backwards to derive the retina’s actual encoding technique.

Nirenberg did this until she produced mathematical equations that, with startling accuracy, encode images into neuron pulses that can be understood by an animal brain. In the image below, the far left picture represents the pre-Nirenberg state of the art prosthetic eye, and the mid two images are what her prosthetic are capable of. Not quite as good as the real thing, but when you imagine that this is a silicon chip being implanted into the eye of a blind animal and then wired into the optic nerve, you really ought to be awestruck. In case you’re wondering, the “transducer” that the image references is a piece of hardware that converts the output from the silicon chip into signals that are ready to travel along the optic nerve to the brain.

Comparison of various prosthetic eye/retina technologies

You’ll note that we’ve used the word “animal” throughout, and not “human.” So far, Nirenberg seems to have carried out most of her experiments on mice — but as far as we know, the eye, optic nerve, and visual cortex in mice and humans are fairly similar. The next step must surely be working out the mathematical equations that simulate the human retina, and then full-blown human trials. Personally, as someone who is short-sighted but not blind, I would rather go down the wireless contact lens display route — but imagine, just for a second, if one day a prosthetic retina with a higher resolution than its flesh-and-blood counterpart is made. Imagine if you could hit a button to digitally zoom in with your eyes — or, more likely, just think about zooming in.

Perhaps even cooler, though, Nirenberg insists that this same technique — wiring up electrodes to our sense organs and brute forcing the encoding technique — could also be used to produce prosthetic ears, or noses, or limbs that can actually feel. Presumably, at some point, with enough data points under our belt, we might begin to unravel the human brain’s overarching communication codecs, too. The age of bionics is almost here!

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Citizens, vote properly, the next thing we know, voting ‘suggestion bombardments’ will be subtly broadcast via Wiifi directly into your brains. When that happens, dictators and oligarchs will end all freedom and all democracy. There must be white zones which are gazetted in ALL public places including private residences. This could be allowed in certain ‘Techno-pubs’ or whatever districts, but nowhere else.

Technofascism and mind control are already here, and with the advances state of cell phone satellite technology, not inconceivable that voting patterns and ignorance of term limitless dictators’ abusive policies will end up ending democracy or even creating the Suicidal rich people, Columbines and Suicide Bombers that can be enhanced under exstacy or chemical druggings of psychiatric drugs that the bottom 70% civilians in a democracy will not want, but the 1% types, a Dictator or Ayatollah led theocracy would love. Bring on the Luddites. Demand white zones, or laws against use of such technologies or begin seeking only candidates for politics aware of and willing to ratify such laws or start tearing down telecoms structures.

GOOD JOB Guan Eng & team: The Pearl of the Orient’s charm is back! – Thursday, 26 July 2012 09:41

One would need courage and humility to recognize the transformation taking place over these past several years in Penang since 2008. Indeed, a visit to Penang is the best way to learn, witness and partake in the beauty that is becoming of the once raped island.

Notice the ample thought given in creating bicycle lanes. Note too how motorists keep to the law even when out of sight of the law keepers.

Notice how the ferry is kept refreshingly clean. And sense the improved work attitudes of its employees – including clean uniforms and engaging charm.

Notice that the rotting stench of uncollected garbage and choking debris along the island’s shores have all gone missing. Improved too is the absence of stench from covered drains. And see how the shops and stall operators appear cleaner and more ‘schooled’ in mannerisms and hygiene.

Most noticeable is the re-appearance of retired senior citizens back on the circuit of being gainfully employed. From hotels to restaurants, you notice more grey hairs and weather beaten brows easily warming you with caring aged eyes and toothless grins.

Noticeable too is the almost near absence of imported legal (together with Malaysia’s paradoxical illegal labour) workers. It appears that now every Penangite has equal opportunity to work.

Chocking, honking traffic has almost vanished. In place, you sense that people are more in less a hurry.

Trishaw riders are miraculously back with a vibrancy in their characteristic all yellow trappings. And what a joy to see these peddlers have nice park benches to rest, chat and even play a round of checkers in between trips.

What seemed impossible not so long ago and for a long time but now so naturally possible is also significant. There is ample space created for taxis to park in an orderly un-obstructive manner while waiting to get customers.

More cheerful Penangites

No wonder the people of Penang now seem more cheerful as they go about their business of the day. Listening to their relaxed and open conversation makes you wonder too ‘how come’? Where did they get this sudden courage to speak their mind so candidly and without fear or cover?

The taxi drivers are making a joke of the hand-out for tyres, saying, “bagi tangan kanan, ambil balik tangan kiri biasa loh.” And the retirees back on the job market are saying, “sekarang senang mah, boleh cari makan loh.”

Food prices are far more cheaper than Kuala Lumpur – never mind the fact that Penang is only four hours driving distance. You can have a decent nasi kandar of choice for below ten ringgit. And serving you is no ‘pendatang haram’ but family and kin of Malaysian citizenry.

It appears that it does makes economic sense to do away with import labour and give citizens a chance to make a living.

Syabas Penangites. And a feather for your able island’s leadership.

Indeed the Pearl of the Orient is back and the people have proven that when you give back to society what rightly belongs to humanity, people take personal responsibility more seriously and they need little prodding with slogans and reprimands through long preaching down.

But you will need courage and humility to witness and acknowledge the glow that is being put back on that island beauty Penang.

Mailbag

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Gratuituous praise as usual eh? Penang is not the Pearl of the Orient. Hong Kong is. The pearl held by the lion in the crest of the Hong Kong insignia personifies the romanticised (though west inspired) phrase “Pearl of the Orient” referring to Hong Kong – NOT Penang, which has a palm tree signifying a plantation which is now a bleak and spiritually unhappy (mentally or superficially most in Penang are quite happy, abit deeper and just horror . . . ) expense of urban landscape no different from any other on the planet, except for the pretentious, narrow minded and parasitic insanity of some (not too many but quite numerous, so careful you visitors, NWO alert if anything . . . ) the residents.

Also the local DAP politicians are so dirty and vicious and accepting of second class citizenships that they will poison activists with the psychiatric establishment because their politics differ and ask for funeral funds before their deaths. Penang features far too much (there are some normal people but even these get swept up in whatever b.s. herd mentality style . . . ) of a charmless waste bin of fundos posing as good citizens parasiting off the poorer or ‘less well thought’ (some of the rich are nigh unthinking and can be quite insane when infected by religion or cults of personality in politics, infecting the poor and the greedy in turn) lot who have suffered so much (or inflicted so much harm) that they are no civilised people/no longer people beyond a veneer or brittle smiles or superficial politics.

Too few ‘pearls of people’ here in Penang either! Now if Sipadan tried, MAYBE because there are at least REAL PEARL farms there, but Sipadan is 30 years behind Penang, even as Penang is 30 years behind Hong Kong . . . Penang is too often (read the news and apply some logic to see what I mean) a cursed place peopled by political deadwood and the damned fundos backed by poisoners of a psychiatric establishment that have so far been hiding behind a complicit legal system from punishment for abusing people active in politics and activism, minority-fringe group issue advocacy (Minority of 1 is NOT insanity, in fact virtually nothing is insanity . . . ), outside the ‘allowed groups’ . . .

Meaning, Penang is a Fascist dictatorship of an oligarchic/plutocratic elite, NOT a real democracy where anyone can speak freely and participate . . . is the UN paying attention and identifying which ‘stupidos’ are insane as opposed to the non-establishment contrarians being labelled and sabotaged, now without privacy thanks to neurotech abuse sanctioned by the psy-establishment? Some fundos, politicians and psyche-personnel need to be put in prison and stripped of their social and professional status to exhonerate those they have abused and subverted, families they destroyed . . .

What if His Majesty the Agong wants to see a Memorandum of Understanding signed by all three parties that spells out very clearly and specifically the terms of the ‘Unity Government’ that DAP, PKR and PAS are going to form? And what if DAP insists that one of the terms of the MoU must be that Malaysia retains its Secular State status while PAS insists that the implementation of Hudud be one of the terms of the MoU? And because of this conflict, DAP, PKR and PAS end up in a deadlock and cannot sign the MoU and hence the Agong swears in the new Barisan Nasional government.

I said the lesser of the evils, not the lesser of the two evils. That is because in some cases there may be more than just two evils. And I am writing this article in response to the posting by Haris Ibrahim titled Manchester’s Plan B, stands and directions? Will RPK make sense of these for us?

In that posting, today, Haris gave me 48 hours to respond. This was what he said in the concluding paragraphs of his posting:

“I don’t know about the rest of you, but I must confess that Plan B leaves me very troubled with the stand and the direction of RPK. Only RPK can lay those concerns to rest. Will the master strategist share his master strategy relating to Plan B, or so much of it as he can, with us? I will wait 48 hours to hear from him.”

Now, if you remember what I had said in the past, politics is always about compromises and choosing the lesser of the evils (or two evils). And that is why, as I had also said, I did not agree with Dr Chandra Muzaffar’s concept of ‘Politik Baru’ or ‘New Politics’.

I also wrote about how Dr Chandra ‘lectured’ me and was quite exasperated when I said ‘Politik Baru’ is an oxymoron. Politics is the oldest profession in the world (or second oldest if you regard prostitution as the oldest). Hence how can you have ‘New Politics’ when politics itself is the oldest game in town?

I was, of course, being cheeky. I knew what Dr Chandra meant. When he said ‘Politik Baru’ he meant we should indulge in clean politics and not in dirty politics. But can you really expect politics to be clean when the only way to win in the political game is to ‘play dirty’, as Malaysians would say?

And that is where the oxymoron comes in. To win you need to play a dirty game. If you play a clean game you would get whacked good and proper.

I used the analogy of a street fight. When someone walks up to you in a bar and punches you, do you put up your fists and defend yourself using Queensbury Rules? Queensbury Rules would work in a boxing ring with referees to monitor the boxing match. But in a bar where your opponent is not only drunk but also much bigger than you, you need to grab a bottle and whack him over the head with it. You floor the bugger then get the hell out of there in double-quick time.

Is this fair? Who cares? Your objective is not to get whacked, or worse, get killed. So you grab whatever you can and finish the guy off. Fair does not apply in such a situation when limb and life are in jeopardy.

Hence, in politics, if your opponent is not playing fair why should you? If you want to win against a dirty opponent you need to be even dirtier than your opponent. And if you do not have the stomach for such a dirty game then do not become a politician because politics is dirty. It is as simple as that.

Dr Chandra was trying to change the rules of the game. But the other side will not play by your rules. They will set their own rules. And the rule is there are no rules. Hence it should be the law of the jungle. And the law of the jungle is about survival of the fittest. The weak die. You either move to the top of the food chain or else you will become food for those stronger than you.

And that is what politics is all about.

For more than a year I have been raising all sorts of issues involving Pakatan Rakyat. I have pointed out the weaknesses in Pakatan Rakyat. I have pointed out that Pakatan Rakyat is no longer honouring the letter and the spirit of The Poeples’ Declaration although they had endorsed it in the run-up to the last general election.

I also pointed out that we are perturbed by the quality of the candidates. We do not trust some of the people in Pakatan Rakyat and feel that they are for sale. In fact, some have even proven us correct by defecting to the other side.

In our meeting with Anwar Ibrahim in London, we warned him that in the last general election most people were happy to just vote for anyone who was not Umno or Barisan Nasional. However, we have found some of these candidates a huge disappointment. The next time around, we warned Anwar, the voters are going to look at the candidates closely and will vote based on candidates, no longer based on party lines.

Anwar said that he agreed with our observation and that they have taken note of this point and plan to address it when they choose the candidates for the next general election. Anwar also explained that Pakatan Rakyat was having problems attracting candidates to contest on the Pakatan Rakyat ticket.

We were actually quite aware of this. And the problem existed even back in 1999 when Pakatan Rakyat did not exist yet and the opposition coalition then was called Barisan Alternatif. We also personally know some of those people who had been approached. But they declined the offer to contest the election even when they were told they need not join the party but could contest as ‘independent’ candidates. However, they would need to contest on the party ticket even if they did not sign up as party members.

We told Anwar that if this was the only problem they faced then we would be very happy to assist the opposition in sourcing for candidates. Following that, the Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement (MCLM) was launched and one of the first tasks of many that we embarked upon was to look for candidates to contest the general election.

We were very surprised, however, when we were told that Pakatan Rakyat would not accept our candidates. We were even more surprised when they started saying that our purpose in looking for candidates was to trigger three-corner contests in an effort to ‘pecah undi’ (split the votes) and help Barisan Nasional win the election.

After a year of trying to explain that this was not our ‘hidden agenda’ and that what we were doing was merely in response to what Pakatan Rakyat said — their problem in finding candidates — I decided to abort the exercise.

To make matters worse, we could not meet our target of 30 candidates because of the negative publicity about what we were trying to do. When we met with resistance, we stopped at seven candidates. We thought it was futile to push for 30 when there is so much bad publicity about our effort.

Eventually, the candidates dropped out one-by-one until we were left with just one candidate. And even that solitary candidate was going to be a problem because he wanted to contest in Kapar, Kelang, and that seat was ‘owned’ by PKR and PKR’s man in Kapar, Mike, was not going to give up his seat.

Hence Kapar would have to be a three-corner contest. And if the MCLM candidate contests Kapar in a three-corner fight this will only prove our critics right, that we are splitting the votes to help Barisan Nasional win the seat.

So, as I said, after more than a year of trying unsuccessfully to explain what we were doing and still not making any headway, I announced on 1st January this year that we are abandoning the independent candidate initiative. Actually, what I said was in response to a question by the chap interviewing me.

Jalil Hamid of NST asked me about MCLM and about MCLM’s plan to contest the general election. I corrected him by saying that MCLM never planned to contest the general election. That was not our intention at all. What we were trying to do was to help Pakatan Rakyat look for candidates. However, since this effort is not welcomed, we are dropping the whole idea.

Haris was most unhappy about this and he accused me of making a unilateral decision and said that this had never been discussed. Haris then resigned from MLCM while the others who were supposed to have been the candidates announced that they were distancing themselves from me. It appears my announcement that the independent candidate initiative is now off was not received well at all.

My contention was that if Pakatan Rakyat wanted our support then more effort needed to be put into fielding better candidates. And we told Anwar so, which he did not dispute. However, if what we were trying to do is going to be met with such a negative response then we might as well just abandon the whole exercise.

However, Pakatan Rakyat cannot expect our support if they field substandard candidates. Then everyone screams and tells me that it must be anything but Umno (ABU) and nothing else. Even when I pointed out that Pakatan Rakyat is not perfect, they scream, “Never mind. Pakatan Rakyat may not be perfect. There may be many weaknesses and even some corruption in Pakatan Rakyat. However, compared to Umno and Barisan Nasional, Pakatan Rakyat is the lesser of the two evils.”

So there you have it. We are supporting Pakatan Rakkyat not because they are perfect. We know they are not perfect. But compared to Umno and Barisan Nasional they are the lesser of the two evils. And that would be the principle behind why we should support Pakatan Rakyat. It is a very clear stand we take. Our stand is to support Pakatan Rakyat on the principle that it is the lesser of the two evils.

Okay, if that is what the majority wants then I can live with that. Unfortunately, in a democracy, it is what the majority wants that counts. Whether what the majority wants is right or wrong is not crucial. If the majority in Germany during WWII wanted the Jews exterminated then the Jews will get exterminated. Is this the right thing to do? Maybe not but majority rule is not about what is right. That is the downside of democracy, as history has time and again proven.

Okay, I was opposed to the ends justifying the means, and I said so many times. I was opposed to the concept of choosing the lesser of the two evils, and I said so many times. The end justifying the means is a dangerous concept.

The Americans tried to assassinate Fidel Castro to solve their problem with Cuba. Assassination of a foreign leader is wrong but then the end justifies the means. They were looking at the lesser of the two evils. Assassinating a foreign leader is an evil thing to do. However, allowing Castro to rule Cuba is a bigger evil. Hence assassinating him is the lesser of the two evils.

And that is why I was opposed to the concept of the end justifying the means and the lesser of the two evils. Where do we stop? How far do we go? What becomes halal (allowed) and what becomes haram (forbidden)? Under the concept of the end justifying the means and the lesser of the two evils there is no haram. Everything is halal. So see how dangerous it can become?

While we in the opposition propagate the concept of the end justifying the means and the lesser of the two evils, Umno and Barisan Nasional too play that same game. And they are in power so they can play the game more effectively and more successfully than us.

Okay, what stand do Umno and Barisan Nasional take? Their stand is very simple. They do not want to lose power. So they need to retain power by defeating Pakatan Rakyat in any way possible, fair or foul means never mind.

Umno works on one very basic principle. And that principle is the Chinese control the corporate sector. Hence the Malays must control the political arena. The Chinese cannot dominate both the corporate world as well as politics. The Malays must dominate politics at all costs. And no cost is too great to pay.

What if Umno is going to lose political power? What if the majority of the voters vote against Barisan Nasional? Umno will have to make sure that this does not happen. They cannot allow a level playing field and face the risk of losing power. Hence all manner of gerrymandering must be applied plus the electoral roll will have to be padded with ‘BN-friendly’ voters.

What if after doing all this they still lose the election? Say, in spite of all the manipulation, Barisan Nasional still gets ousted. Are they prepared to quietly walk away and concede defeat? Or will they embark upon a post-election ‘exercise’ ultra virus to the Constitution to prevent Pakatan Rakyat from walking into Putrajaya?

Barisan Nasional has lost the election. But they refuse to give up power. They are retaining power through unconstitutional means. And that is evil. So what do we do? Do we just keep quiet or do we also play that same evil game?

No doubt what we need to do will also be evil. But it is going to be the lesser of the two evils. And the lesser of the two evils would be to launch a civil war against an unconstitutional government that refuses to concede defeat in the general election.

Take note, though, many lives will be lost. And that, of course, is an evil thing to happen. But is the loss of thousands of lives a lesser evil than the loss of the government? Or will it be the other way around? Will the loss of the government be the lesser evil? Would you consider lives as very precious and that the loss of thousands of lives can never justify the quest for power?

Another possible scenario would be that Pakatan Rakyat wins the next general election and there is a smooth and peaceful transfer of power. We cannot rule out that possibility as well. Then that would make this entire discussion purely academic.

Yet another possibility would be that Barisan Nasional wins the general election but with such a slim majority that it is almost a hung Parliament plus they lose almost half the 13 state governments, like what happened once upon a time. Then this triggers a power struggle in Umno, like what happened once upon a time. The group that wants to oust the group in power is more radical and believes in a hard-line action against the opposition to totally wipe out the opposition once and for all.

Now, we want to see the emergence of a two-party system in Malaysia. And two party-system means two parties equally-balanced where one can check the other. However, if the radical group succeeds in grabbing power then this aspiration of a two-party system would be buried. Thus, we need the liberals and not the radicals to hold power in Putrajaya.

If the radicals take over then there would no longer be any credible opposition come the general election, say, in 2018. However, if the liberals rule then the opposition still has one more shot in 2018, or whenever.

Okay, this is based on the scenario that Pakatan Rakyat fails to win the coming general election and Barisan Nasional is weakened further from the 2008 general election. If Pakatan Rakyat does worse than it did in 2008 then the problem ends. If Pakatan Rakyat wins the general election then we may have a problem but a different kind of problem. And if Pakatan Rakyat does better than it did in 2008 but Barisan Nasional still wins then it would be yet another kind of problem.

So there are three possible outcomes and three possible problems attached to these outcomes. Hence, based on the lesser of the evils, as what you all want, we have to figure out our course of action. Each course of action has some evil attached. The question would be: which would you regard as the lesser of that evil?

You may think that the above is mere speculation and not based on anything tangible. Okay, let me put it another way. Say Barisan Nasional wins 110 Parliament seats in total. The balance 112 Parliament seats are shared between PKR, DAP and PAS. Say DAP wins 40 seats, PKR 37 seats and PAS 35 seats. Who will get to form the government?

Barisan Nasional, a legally registered party, has the most number of seats, 110, compared to DAP, PKR and PAS who all won less than 110 seats each. You may argue that DAP, PKR and PAS can always combine their seats, which means the total would be 112 and hence more than Barisan Nasional’s 110.

Are you sure? What if they can’t? What if His Majesty the Agong wants to see a Memorandum of Understanding signed by all three parties that spells out very clearly and specifically the terms of the ‘Unity Government’ that DAP, PKR and PAS are going to form? And what if DAP insists that one of the terms of the MoU must be that Malaysia retains its Secular State status while PAS insists that the implementation of Hudud be one of the terms of the MoU? And because of this conflict, DAP, PKR and PAS end up in a deadlock and cannot sign the MoU and hence the Agong swears in the new Barisan Nasional government.

Yes, yet a fourth possible scenario. And in politics anything is possible. In fact, the more impossible it may appear the more possible that it may happen. So, in this case, which would you regard as the lesser of the two evils? I don’t know so you tell me. Migrate? Take up arms and start a civil war? Curse PAS and DAP for not coming to an agreement on the matter of Hudud? Curse Anwar for not resolving this matter before the general election? What? You tell me!

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

This article is most ingenuous and insulting to the Rakyat’s intelligence!

a) What if His Majesty the Agong wants to see a Memorandum of Understanding signed by all three parties that spells out very clearly and specifically the terms of the ‘Unity Government’ that DAP, PKR and PAS are going to form?

No such requirement in UN or foreign nation recognition – the Agong can denounce a MOU refusing political party yet that party can still be recognized worldwide. Only a majority of MPs matters even if no MOU’s exist. This is ‘Absolute Monarchy’ talk. Are you mad RPK? Bodeking back into favour?

b) And what if DAP insists that one of the terms of the MoU must be that Malaysia retains its Secular State status while PAS insists that the implementation of Hudud be one of the terms of the MoU?

The UN insists that ALL countries of the world are secular to a point. Or do we need NATO peacekeepers to remind? Hudud as mentioned can be implemented in majority assenting districts in Malaysia, ridiculous to suggest Hudud in ALL of Malaysia ESPECIALLY in majority non-Malay districts and even in non-assenting majority Malay districts which have Malay majorities that do not want Hudud which by all common sense considerations leaves only Terengganu and Kelantan as possible consideration for Hudud (even Kelantan and Terengganu might have significant though not necessarily majority numbers of districts that do not want Hudud which by UN standards may not be enforced upon those populaces either.).

c) And because of this conflict, DAP, PKR and PAS end up in a deadlock and cannot sign the MoU and hence the Agong swears in the new Barisan Nasional government.

RPK must be senile here saying ‘And hence the Agong swears the new Barisan Nasional government (minority) voted government.‘

If BN is a minority, BN cannot be sworn in by the Agong – the UN or any responsible foreign government would never recognize the new MINORITY government! Because internationally only the majority coalition is recognized! More Absolute Monarchy from RPK. RPK, you really disappointed in this article and treat the Rakyat and readers like simpletons. RPK may be well informed but RPK can’t think straight for sh1t these days or presumes that everyone else can’t. Just look at the quality of articles RPK has been dishing out these days. Tsk tsk tsk . . . RPK should return to Malaysia and stand against Anwar in Penang, that perhaps RPK can do, something useful like give an alternative to Anwar – I think RPK is no more fundo and potentially more open minded than Anwar though no word yet on that backtrack LGBT yet . . . RPK shouldn’t don’t bother throwing strawmen scenarios and absolute monarchy at the Rakyat from jolly England and do something useful for GE13.

d) Curse PAS and DAP for not coming to an agreement on the matter of Hudud? Curse Anwar for not resolving this matter before the general election?

No. The Rakyat just won’t vote for them. The best curse is to not vote for any MP. In either case 2 terms only!

“While this might be a good vote-getting strategy in some parts of Malaysia, his claim shamefully runs completely contrary to the central principle of non-discrimination in international human rights law,” was Robertson’s rants against Anwar, picked up in a statement the HRW issued last week.

Azmi Anshar, NST

DATUK Seri Anwar Ibrahim has been busted again, playing both sides of the coin when he should have picked one and be done with it. But then, it’s an Anwar speciality over the years he’s been grating the public consciousness.

This time though, his duality — this split personality meandering on human rights issues — is his own doing, one that invited a stricture that, surprisingly, didn’t bore from a Federal Government leader, backer or blogger.

It was unloaded by Human Rights Watch’s (Asia division) Phil Robertson, an ally fuming at Anwar’s doublespeak uttered during his revealing testimony in his lawsuit against Utusan Malaysia last week.

Responding to defence counsel’s questions, Anwar the plaintiff explicitly agreed that homosexuals should be discriminated to protect the sanctity of marriage. Full stop? Not quite. It was not the point that Anwar wanted to make as he insisted that “archaic” laws should be reviewed to prevent punishment of the innocent.

Defence lawyer Datuk Firoz Hussein’s question could not have been clearer: “Should we discriminate against homosexuals?” Firoz asked. “Yes” was Anwar’s emphatic reply.

Anwar went on: “We don’t give space to homosexuals and uphold the sanctity of marriage…the law must be crafted in a way we must believe the sanctity of marriage between a man and woman…we do not promote homosexuality.”

Anwar had a partisan reflection when he articulated why Malaysia’s anti-homosexual laws were “archaic”, illustrating something that seemed “personal” when he intoned, “legislation to punish innocent people should not be condoned or tolerated”.

When pressed to elaborate on why he considered existing laws against unnatural sex under Section 377 of the Penal Code to be “archaic”, Anwar was more direct: “…because it is hardly used and only used for political reasons”.

That’s Anwar speciality, that ability to tie you up in literary knots even under oath. For the general populace, he wants homosexuals discriminated — banned, barred, isolated or alienated — yet he wants “archaic” laws governing the counter-culture to be reformed. Which is it?

Robertson wasn’t having any of Anwar’s nonsensical flip-flops, directly denouncing his anti-gay position as “shameful”, “fundamentally wrong” while accusing him of playing politics with civil liberties.

“While this might be a good vote-getting strategy in some parts of Malaysia, his claim shamefully runs completely contrary to the central principle of non-discrimination in international human rights law,” was Robertson’s rants against Anwar, picked up in a statement the HRW issued last week.

Bang goes Anwar’s carefully manufactured reputation as an international human rights advocate. The malarkey of his global pulpit, centred upon caressing his image in the likes of civil rights battlers Aung San Suu Kyi, is exposed as untenable when it comes to defending political self-preservation, especially his vested interest with Islamic allies Pas and a host of like-minded religious jurors.

To be sure, Robertson would just have imposed a similar judgment against the Federal Government, but there are diametric differences: whereas Anwar speaks with a forked tongue, the Barisan Nasional has consistently insisted that gays have no role to play in the mainstream.

To be plain, Anwar is a hypocrite (by Robertson’s angry diatribe) and a liar (by the rants of disappointed supporters) as he speaks for the downtrodden before international audiences, but deserts them at home. On the other hand, the Federal Government opposes — as representative of the moral/religious majority and a matter of national law/policy — the LGBT (Lesbians Gays Bisexual Transgender) movement propelled by Bersih leader Datuk S. Ambiga.

Going by the consistency of his ironies and deceptions, Anwar wants to be a man of all seasons for everybody and if he trips on his convoluted political rhetoric, that’s fine because in his mind, enough people have the required gullibility to believe in his “heartfelt” empathy.

Until someone like Robertson comes along to fiercely prick Anwar’s hydrogen-inflated and moveable balloon.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Less LGBT hate by allowing a pro-LGBT article is NOT an apology or backtrack on some of RPK’s less LGBT neural articles.

ARTICLE 4

Stop playing race game – FROM AROUND THE BLOGS – Wednesday, 25 July 2012 Super Admin – AZMI SHAROM

The country has changed so much since 1969 that to keep using the argument that we are on the verge of race war is rather obsolete.

I WAS wondering when it was going to happen; when certain quarters were going to dust off that old chestnut of May 13, 1969, and use it as a political tool.

It all seems terribly coincidental that as the general election draws nearer, suddenly race riots get inserted into political speech, and a movie about May 13 is apparently waiting to be released.

The country has changed so much since 1969 that to keep using the argument that we are on the verge of race war is rather obsolete.

Let’s look at some facts. Firstly, the vast majority of the Malaysian population were not even born in 1969.

This means that first-hand knowledge of that terrible time is simply not part of most of us. Without that emotional connection, I believe that younger Malaysians are willing to question the feasibility of such a thing happening again.

And really, could it? In 1969, the politics of the nation was so very clearly divided along racial lines. The Opposition was not united as it is today. PAS won 12 seats, DAP 13 and Gerakan 8.

They were not part of a coalition and each stood on its own, therefore it was possible to play the race game because, in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor in particular, the Opposition had the face of “the other”.

Today, with the Pakatan coalition in existence, the Opposition is a much more complex animal. If the Opposition wins, how can the race card be played when two of the component parties are so predominantly Malay?

Let’s take a look at recent events that has got some powerful people’s knickers in a twist.

In particular the Bersih demonstrations of 2007, 2011 and 2012. The demographics of these events were multi-ethnic and became even more multi-ethnic with each progressive one.

By the time of this year’s Bersih demonstration, the make-up of the people who took part was much closer to the make-up of the country as a whole. However, the predominant ethnic group was still Malay.

This goes to show that the political divide, not of political parties but of ordinary citizens, can no longer be conveniently divided along ethnic lines.

Significant numbers of Malaysians, regardless of their background, can be united when they have a common political goal, in this case clean and fair elections.

Furthermore, ethnic Malays can be vocally unhappy with the status quo. In the present-day scenario, it is ridiculous to say that the politics in Malaysia is simply a matter of Malays versus Non-Malays.

And let us look at the 2008 elections. The results were unprecedented and surprised most people. I remember that night very well, as the results became clear that Barisan had lost their two-thirds majority and five state governments.

I decided to drive around Kuala Lumpur, just to see what would happen. And what happened? Nothing.

The streets were quiet. No celebratory parties, no processions, no fireworks; nothing.

The Opposition and their supporters on the streets were as muted as the Barisan and their supporters.

No gloating, no taunting, no excuses at all to provoke a reaction from the supporters of the powers-that-be.

KUALA LUMPUR, July 27 — Pakatan Rakyat (PR) will not impose new taxes to compensate for any potential loss of revenue from its plan to shelve excise duties to lower the sticker price for cars if it takes power in the next general election.

PKR’s strategy director Rafizi Ramli had on Tuesday announced that the federal opposition intends to cut the triple tax on cars — import, excise and sales tax — if it wins the coming general election.

Today, Rafizi (picture) said that there will be “no introduction of new taxes”.

Instead, he said, a PR federal government would instead cut spending and also revamp the current Approved Permit (AP) system to make up for any losses.

“I think we can look at how we manage APs. APs now… to give riches buta-buta (blindly),” he said.

“If AP is managed well, there will be a source of wealth that can balance the loss of revenue from excise duty.”

However, he said, Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim would only announce details of PR’s mechanism for the alternative source of revenue next week.

Rafizi had previously admitted that the government could lose RM8 billion in yearly revenue if car taxes are cut.

But the offer to voters will effectively boost the disposable incomes of Malaysians and reduce household debts.

Malaysians pay inordinately high prices for cars mainly because of the protection afforded to national carmaker Proton since 1984.

The public pays import, excise and sales taxes that translate into some of the highest car prices in the region and the world.

A recent income survey found that a household earning RM3,000 a month could spend up to 50 per cent of its income on maintaining a car.

A cut in car duties — which currently run as high as 105 per cent — could help stimulate the economy by boosting disposable income and reducing household debt burden, analysts have also told The Malaysian Insider.

The high taxes now have resulted in about 20 per cent of the RM581 billion total household debt in the country last year being held in cars, an asset that depreciates over time.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Pakatan must be mad if they think the Rakyat are going to continue paying extra for their cars to some AP Crony – this shows Anwar supports apartheid in some manner as well! Unvotable! Vote 3rd Force which will make ALL OF MALAYSIA an AP and duty free zone. Who ever suggests or supports keeping AP must be enmired in crony politics mentality, a crony or plain greedy. Look around the world, there is no such thing as AP in any developed country and even in Africa where apartheid has officially ended, there is no AP, though apartheid still exists in some places unofficially from unremoved legal or social or other embedded structures.

Jul 25: Acknowledging it is the government’s right to appeal against yesterday’s decision by the High Court declaring the coalition a legal entity, the grouping however advised Home minister Hishamuddin Hussein not to do so.

“For the sake of our country, we sincerely ask them not to pursue with an appeal and to drop all the civil suits against us as it is a waste of public funds,” Bersih 2.0 steering committee members said in a statement.

The coalition said it hoped BN would accept present political realities and deal with Bersih 2.0 as a legitimate entity demanding free and fair elections on behalf of the people.

Judge Rohana Yusof ruled in favour of Bersih, pointing out to contradiction by the authorities who allowed Bersih to hold its third rally this year despite not revoking the pronouncement that it was ‘illegal’.

Bersih is led by former Bar Council president Ambiga Sreevenasan and literary icon Samad Said, along with 14 other steering committee members.

Responding to the judgement, Hishamuddin said his ministry would discuss with the Attorney General whether to appeal against the decision.

Bersih meanwhile called on BN to start cooperating to improve the electoral system.

Meanwhile, PAS information chief Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man, describing the judgement a victory for the people, hoped that lesson was learnt by BN.

“This is a reminder against issuing a declaration which violated the law, and Hishamuddin should be aware that many rally participants were arrested because of that wrong declaration,” he added.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

A group of citizens backed by the Bar Council, could file a lawsuit against the Home Minister, CPO of the district or at least the highest ranking officer at the rally for not making orders clear or controlling their men. As for being beaten and hurt during the rally where provable (i.e. has filmed evidence) compensation by the ENTIRE police force perhaps in salary dockings collectively shared rather than taxapayers’ monies, no offense to police but this shouldn’t be too much individually when divided, and does give a message to the police to not resort to violence or at least use submission holds and moves (no hitting with batons or rubber hoses unnecessarily, what does the PDRM think this is, Camel Riders in Egypt under Mubarak?), with any protestors and ralliers who threw the first punch first being left out of any compensation unless obviously retaliated against in an inequitable manner. Lets see if the Courts or Bar Council get blackballed internationally or the Home Minister, CPO or Ranking Officer has to resign at very least. As for BERSIH, please make clear on the below, Anwar’s ‘keep AP in place’ fortells much cronyism and potential apartheid if anything :

;and field some candidates for GE13! We can’t hand the government to either BN or PR, 3rd force is best (well maybe DAP and PKR if the 90% and 50% family blocs (and crony capitalists) respectively are not fielded in GE13!

ARTICLE 7

PKR Youth wing against hudud – Wednesday, 25 July 2012 Super Admin

NOT IN FAVOUR: Its chief, Shamsul Iskandar, on same wavelength as Karpal in opposing the Islamic law

Its chief, Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin, yesterday warned his Pas counterpart, Nasrudin Hassan Tantawi, that he had opened a Pandora’s box over his recent comment on the implementation of hudud, which had raised the ire of Karpal and other DAP members.

He said it was improper for Nasrudin to dredge up the longstanding issue as he claimed that the stance of the alliance between PKR, DAP and Pas on the Islamic criminal law was clear.

“I would like to advise Nasrudin to refer to our agreement late last year that hudud is not part of Pakatan Rakyat’s joint policy until all member parties agree to it.”

Shamsul Iskandar added that close to 30 top opposition party leaders had met for over three hours on Sept 29, last year to resolve the deep-rooted hudud issue, which has seen DAP and Pas repeatedly at loggerheads.

“DAP’s objection has to be respected and PR will continue to allow its members to air different views,” he said.

On Friday, Karpal had expressed displeasure upon learning that Nasrudin had, during a political debate, suggested that he was willing to consider hudud for the country.

Hudud is a term used in Syariah to describe the class of punishment for certain crimes such as theft, fornication and adultery, consumption of alcohol and other intoxicants and apostasy.

Nasrudin had uttered the remark during a debate with Umno Working Committee Secretariat of Young Ulama chairman Fathul Bari Mat Jahaya.

Karpal had also asked Pas leaders to keep its “members in the lower ranks” in check, and urged them to pursue the welfare state, an ideal endorsed by the DAP, PKR and Pas alliance.

He had also claimed that Pas had abandoned its aspirations to set up an Islamic state and implement Islamic laws in the country as a trade-off for its cooperation with DAP and PKR.

On Monday, however, Pas syura council member Datuk Dr Mahfodz Mohamed refuted Karpal’s statement and said having Islamic laws and setting up an Islamic state were still high on Pas’s agenda.

Pas Youth deputy chief Dr Raja Ahmad Al Hiss yesterday said he did not want the dispute between Karpal and Nasrudin to interfere with preparations for the elections.

“Since the general election is approaching, Pas does not want to get distracted as we want to stay committed to ensuring Pakatan Rakyat’s victory and capturing Putrajaya,” he said in a text message yesterday.

Meanwhile, MCA Youth chief Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong challenged senior PKR and DAP leaders to state their stand on hudud and to “chastise Pas” over its plan to implement Islamic laws in the country.

“If PKR is for the creation of a welfare state, does that mean it is for or against hudud, considering the fact that its leader, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, had voiced his support for hudud?” Wee asked in a statement here yesterday.

“So far, Karpal has been a lone ranger in speaking against hudud. (Are) the DAP office-bearers distancing themselves from their chairman?”

“Karpal cannot confidently say that Pas gave up on the creation of an Islamic state in favour of a welfare state if Nasrudin publicly declares otherwise and has the support of a Pas Syura council member.”

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

I can imagine DAP and PAS throwing even more religious strawmen at the Rakyat if they win. What will be left of Malaysia may be worse but in a different way than if BN won. BN – Corruption and Racism, or PR – Fundamentalism and Nepotism? Choose neither BN nor PR by voting for 3rd Force. BN came and went. Pakatan failed and needs to be booted. 3rd Force must prevail or more madness, but of a different sort, looks set to continue under PR unless all Pakatan MP’s sign a statuary declaration supporting a bill for :

But only 3rd Force looks able to sign a Statuary Declaration confirming their committment to ensure the above, with BN actually currently having the mandate to grant the above but simply refusing to use that mandate! Failed coalitions both! Vote for 3rd Force!

Amanah has decided to go with BN’s ‘don’t use mandate’ to ‘not end apartheid’ or ‘don’t end 2 classes of citizenship’ – so Amanah becomes non-3rd Force. Does the Rakyat know how to vote yet?

Career politicians — which would be what most Malaysian politicians are — are in it for the money. If politicians are not paid any salary or allowance and, say, wakil rakyat, instead of receiving a salary/allowance, need to pay for the ‘honour’ of being a wakil rakyat, how many would want to become a wakil rakyat?

For example, the First Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman, took six months no-pay leave to campaign in the general election (he handed the administration of the country to his deputy, Tun Abdul Razak Hussein). He also sold a lot of his personal property to finance Umno. When the Tunku retired he was almost broke and could not even afford to pay his income tax. So the government froze his gratuity.

How many politicians would do what the Tunku did?

The Tunku, understandably, was very sad. After being ousted and forced out of office on allegations that he was a ‘Chinese lover’ and that he is to blame for the 13th May 1969 race riots due to his excessive ‘compromises’ with the Chinese, he is whacked with a huge income tax bill and his gratuity is frozen.

The Tunku who did so much for the country and sacrificed his personal wealth for the sake of the country is made into a pariah and suffers persecution. That turned him into a bitter old man and when the old Umno was wound up and the new Umno (Umno Baru) was formed he refused to become a member. In fact, he worked with Semangat 46 to oppose Umno Baru. And when he died he died outside Umno.

The Third Prime Minister, Tun Hussein Onn, also opposed Umno Baru and, just like the Tunku, died outside Umno. He too did not like what Umno had become. His intentions never changed. Neither did the Tunku’s. But Umno had changed. And both these gentlemen did not like what they saw in the new Umno that rose from the ashes of the old Umno.

. . . what happens if the party has transformed or mutated into something that you do not believe in? Do you call it a day and move on or do you bite the bullet and stifle your dissent? Dissent would be considered as rebellion in a political party. Demonstrating dissent would weaken the party as it gives an impression that the party is divided, or worse, disintegrating.

But doing so goes against what you believe in. So what do you do? Do you speak out and risk being seen as not toeing the party line or do you leave and be called a traitor or turncoat? Not an easy decision, especially for someone who has attained a high profile status in the party.

For example, the Qur’an starts by saying that there is good and there is bad in liquor but there is more bad than good. Hence this verse can be taken as an advice about the ills of liquor but not quite a prohibition from drinking.

Then the Qur’an says you must not drink before your prayers. This is a prohibition but a prohibition only when you are going to pray. In other words you can still drink as long as you are not about to pray.

Finally, the Qur’an prohibits liquor altogether.

Now, the Qur’an is supposed to be the word of God but sent to us through the Prophet Muhammad. So why can’t God (or Muhammad) make up His mind? Why the ‘U-turn’? Why like this one day and like that another day? Why not be consistent?

Students of the Qur’an can tell you that in the early days of Islam when the pagans of Mekah were not yet ready to fully abandon their old customs and traditions, Muhammad (or God, if you embrace the belief that the Qur’an is God’s word) had to be more compromising and less hard line. However, after more than a decade, after Islam had become well entrenched in Medinan society, Muhammad was able to be more intolerant and less compromising on what was considered unIslamic.

True, people have left Umno-BN and people have crossed over from the opposition to join Umno-BN. But different people have done so for different reasons.

Onn Jaafar, as an example, left Umno because Umno would not accept non-Malays into the party. He wanted Umno to abandon its Malay agenda and transform itself into a Malaysian party. But Umno could not agree to that. So, since Umno did not share his ideals of a non-race-based party, he left. Since he could not change Umno and since he was not prepared to change his stand just to toe the party line, he quit to form his own non-race-based party UMNO Baru.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

The above article is the cleaned up and manipulation free version of the original. Read the original at your own risk at :

RPK is still manipulating, propagating (replicating more like) a certain ‘definitely skewed’ mode of thought, though far more cautiously after the past few responses on this blog which some might consider harsh. But when a man as old as RPK speaks, tolerance for manipulation and inaccuracy or lack of logic is virtually zero by the standards of today’s youth. More rebuttals :

1) But doing so goes against what you believe in. So what do you do? Do you speak out and risk being seen as not toeing the party line or do you leave and be called a traitor or turncoat? Not an easy decision, especially for someone who has attained a high profile status in the party.

This presumes or causes the reader “corruptible ethics” as well as pre-empts political parties to be undemocratic . RPK sinks to new lows, or displays more uncorrected character flaws . . .

2) . . . Muhammad was able to be more intolerant and less compromising on what was considered unIslamic. . . .

Shows that RPK is not ‘naturally nice’ or ‘naturally all encompassing’ or not inclined to diversity. So if RPK is praising and intending to be like Muhammed, fully expect that IF RPK has the ‘power’, RPK will be merciless but meanwhile will play nice because RPK has no power at the moment. So who needs this sort of MP/leader like RPK? Fail again, and more authoritarianism. I still encourge RPK to return to Malaysia and stand against Anwar in Anwar’s constituency, choosing between the lesser of 2 evils and all that y’know . . . UMNO Baru could even be revived but only if the below 3 items are part of the new party and part of all MP or required as candidates’ statuary declarations for the Rakyat :

Otherwise only 3rd Force candidates fresh from the Rakyat with a Statuary Declaration on the above 3 items, and ready to leave after 2 terms are the only votables. End the APARTHEID of Bumiputra and make Apostasy something that cannot be punished! The Quran cannot be misinterpreted in this manner as a tool of control against Malays, even as APARTHEID of Bumiputra is against all concept of Islamic (and Human) civilisation!

An article in the Perkasa website accuses the DAP veteran of being the main force behind the riots which, according to the writer, claimed 2,000 lives.

RK Anand, FMT

Ruling politicians have never failed to remind Malaysians of the sectarian violence which rocked the nation more than four decades ago.

The spectre was often summoned to stoke fear in the hearts of the electorate and served as a convenient tool to create suspicion and animosity between the races.

And while the soon-to-be repealed Sedition Act was used against those who uttered statements of comparatively lesser evil, those who peddled the May 13 bogey were however left untouched.

With the 13th general election looming and being touted as the nation’s most pivotal political bout, the bloodletting of 1969 had cropped up with increasing frequency, especially with the Chinese having turned their backs on the Umno-led Barisan Nasional coalition as evident in their voting trend.

And in the forefront of this bandwagon was Perkasa, the self-appointed vanguard of the Malay race in Malaysia.

In a recent article published on its website, the writer had accused DAP’s Lim Kit Siang of being the prime mover behind the racial riots.

The article was accompanied by a macabre montage depicting the veteran politician with a bloody hand print in the background and blood dripping over his face, with the words “13 Mei”.

The article claimed that the opposition leader later sang a different tune, saying that DAP was willing to work with BN to ensure that such a tragic episode did not recur.

“His aim was to put a lid on his cardinal sin as the main force [pengerak utama] behind May 13 and to wash his hands of the blood of the innocent victims [of the riots],” it read.

The article, titled “Kit Siang pernah halau Melayu dari Kg Baru”, was penned in reaction to Lim’s vexed response to the accusation that DAP was infiltrated by Communist elements.

Delving into the history of DAP’s formation, the article stated that since its inception, the party had close ties with Singapore’s People’s Action Party or PAP.

Following Singapore’s departure from the Federation, the article said DAP was formed with Lim, who was said to share family ties with Singapore’s first prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, being one of the pioneers.

“There is not much difference between DAP and PAP. So it does not come as a surprise that the new generation of DAP leaders like Lim’s son Guan Eng continue the tradition of ‘worshipping’ PAP,” it added.

The ‘big headed’ Chinese

Following the 1969 general election, the article stated that DAP and Gerakan (which was then an opposition party) grew arrogant after securing a huge victory in Selangor.

“DAP used the freedom of expression without limits to condemn and insult the Malays during a mammoth rally in Kuala Lumpur which saw them bring banners and loud-hailers.

“It had only been 12 years since the Chinese were accorded full citizenship based on one of the conditions set forth by the British and they [the Chinese] had grown big headed,” it read.

Citing a report by the National Action Council then, the article said it was found that DAP’s street procession in which racist sentiments were spewed against the Malays was the catalyst behind the racial riots.

Interestingly, the article stated that 2,000 lives were lost in the riots despite official statistics placing the death toll at under 200 amidst claims that it was an attempt to downplay the incident.

According to the article, the slogan bandied about by Lim and the other Chinese leaders in DAP during their procession was “Malai si which meant ‘Mati Melayu’ [Malays are dead].”

The fact was, claimed the article, DAP cannot change to become a party which would champion the rights of the Malays and Bumiputera “because racism runs deep in its veins”.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

” The fact was, claimed the article, DAP cannot change to become a party which would champion the rights of the Malays and Bumiputera “because racism runs deep in its veins”. “

Tsk! RK Anand’s line reads no better being racism by neglect of consideration that all citizens have the same rights under law and that Bumiputra Special Privileges were as per the Reid Commission only allowed to be in place fo 15 years and then reviewed for removal. The way RK Anand speaks, sounds as if Bumiputra was intended to be forever! That is the Social Contract. Equality for all Malaysians AFTER 15 years of Special privileges. How about we have parties that do not champion rights of any race and instead champion rights of MALAYSIAN citizens . . . DAP and PAS get along because of a sense of Fundamentalism. What does RK Anand think of the below and will RK Anand even dare ask for what is merely equality even where Pakatan cynically and unfairly fail to act to ensure what UN and Quran assure all humanity?

The NGOs in Malaysia have found themselves ‘between a ROC and a hard place…’, says Suaram’s adviser Kua Kia Soong.

While the Registrar of Societies may now feign innocence regarding their selectivity in registering societies by questioning Suaram’s registration as a business, let me remind the young generation and those with short memories about our nation’s shortcomings relating to the freedom of association in our recent history.

As you know, ‘Operation Lalang’ was Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s autocracy at its worst when he arrested and detained more than a hundred innocent Malaysians without trial in October 1987.

Upon the release of the last Operation Lalang detainees in 1989, several of these detainees including my goodself and members of the Families Support Group formed this human rights organisation known as Suaram (Suara Rakyat Malaysia). Aware of the obstacles in registering a human rights society under the Registrar of Societies, Suaram registered as a business under the Registrar of Business.

At the time, another human rights organisation, Hakam had taken more than two years to be registered in 1989 even though it boasted two former prime ministers (Tunku Abdul Rahman and Tun Hussein Onn) as its patrons. It had tried unsuccessfully several times to register as a society in the eighties.

The Malaysian chapter of Amnesty International also tried unsuccessfully for five years to register as a society under the Societies Act. Two applications and an appeal to the Home Minister were also rejected.

Consequently, quite a number of NGOs decided that in order to carry out their services to society, they had no choice but to register as businesses.

So why is there a sudden interest in Suaram’s status after its 23 years’ existence? Is it coincidental that this has arisen out of our recent request to the French judicial system to pursue suspected commissions embroiled in the RM7 billion Scorpene submarine deals?

It is no secret

Given the difficulties created by the Societies Act, some non-governmental organisations, including Suaram decided to register as companies or businesses.

As the corporate gurus say, “If something is not working, do something else.” Or, as Deng Xiaoping famously said, “It does not matter if the cat is white or black, as long as it catches the mice.” The mice, in the case of NGOs, are defending human rights, democracy and social justice.

NGOs registering as companies were certainly not a secret. In fact, in early 1997 the government threatened to force all NGOs to register under the Societies Act. Nonetheless, registration as a company has not completely protected NGOs from harassment by the government, as the recent intrusion by the SSM into Suaram’s accounts has demonstrated.

In 1996, the Institut Pengajian Komuniti (IPK), an NGO taking up the issue of rights of indigenous peoples in Sarawak was de-registered by the Registrar of Business over a legal technicality.

The ROC’s Tenaganita fiasco

In 1997, the Registrar of Companies raided the offices of Tenaganita, the NGO that had exposed inhuman conditions in immigrant detention centres, and confiscated their documents.

Tenaganita and two directors were subsequently charged in court in March 1997 under the Companies Act for late filing of audited financial statements of 1994. And most unusual was the fact that the charges were prosecuted by a Deputy Prosecutor from the Attorney-General’s Chambers instead of the usual officers of the Registrar.

The charges were subsequently withdrawn on July 9, 1997 when it was pointed out in court that the Registrar had already compounded the offences and accepted payment of a fine through Tenaganita’s accountants.

Then on Sept 5, 1997, the Registrar again issued fresh charges against Tenaganita and two directors on minor technicalities. This time around, the Registrar refused to compound the alleged offences for a fine.

After Tenaganita mounted a legal challenge to the prosecutions alleging mala fide prosecution, the charges were withdrawn on Nov 25, 1997.

As you can see, NGOs in Malaysia have found themselves “between a ROC and a hard place…”

PSM’s Greek tragedy

Opposition political parties have fared no better. Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) only obtained its legal registration as a political party in 2008, 10 years after it first filed its application. The entire saga endured by PSM in its struggle to be registered reads like a Greek tragedy in modern Malaysia.

And of course, the Registrar of Societies can feign selective outrage yet again: “Wasn’t the Malaysian Indian United party (MIUP), whose founding leader is S Nallakaruppan swiftly registered in October 2007, just five months after he quit PKR in May 2007?”

“You mean the party that pledged to work closely with, and give its support to, the ruling BN coalition? Yes, we believe the ROS acted expeditiously on their application…”

Restrictions to the fundamental right to freedom of association are also imposed on trade union officials through the Trade Unions Act. Today, less than 10 per cent of Malaysian workers are unionised compared to more than 60 per cent at the time of Independence. What a transformation indeed!

Inspecting the good guys

We stress that the entire charade by the government to harass Suaram through a complaint by some nonentity in the public and CCM’s ‘routine’ inspection is political and uncalled for.

We do not even know if the complaint was made officially to the CCM. It would appear that the CCM is acting on every single complaint (offical or otherwise) from the public at a highly efficient rate.

We question if there is a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) within CCM that provides guidelines on receiving and acting on a complaint.

We also question whether or not the SOP requires the CCM to first verify the background of the complainant prior to receiving and acting on a complaint.

From the evidence in the Paris (Scorpene Scandal) Papers, one would have expected that the CCM would know its priorities and begin “routinely inspecting” the highly dubious activities and accounts of Perimekar Sdn Bhd and Terasasi Sdn Bhd, but have they?

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Show us that people who can look like so-called ‘leaders’ are able to do good and not merely ask for funeral funds. Run for election as an independent candidate Kua Kia Song.

‘As for the technicality of registration’, my dear Perfessher, there is no need for that. A statuary declaration to abide by certain items for any group of candidates is all thats needed. ROS which is being a problem and obviously less than neutral becomes a perfunctory body that can be safely ignored and bypassed (in a neutral ROS peopled by neutral people that may not be the case but in Malaysia, very much so), political parties are an instrument of control. The technicality and illusion of a ‘great party’ of unity is to con the people with. The people however do not care about political parties anymore. All want to be entertained and all want social freedoms. If an independent candidate or a group of independant candidates runs for election, can give that, as opposed to a oh-so-unified party controlled by an undemocratic term limitless supremo who fears activists and independent minded persons so much they would prefer to sabotage and poison and drug then label these potential competitors as insane, guess who the people would rather vote for? Taking the above into consideration, the ROS is absolutely redundant when faced with independent candidates.

Conform much Dr. Kua? Even the below commentator thinks more outside the box that this preconceived acceptance of ROS and being in a political party to participate in democratic processes! Looks very much like so but all PHd. holders are brainwashed confirmists to a degree . . . there is no need to belong to a political party or need association with the ROS. And all MPs and Assemblymen should GTFO of Dewan to allow the next generation of people to take over and perhaps even like Tunku Abdul Rahman did specifically – FOR FREE not asking for state funds. Wanna join 3rd Force on this premise? To not collect a single cent of salary like Tunku Abdul Rahman, AND leave after 2 terms? Now THAT would be statesmanship! Not the shameless demands for 750K funerals, pretenses about normalcy of family bloc term limitlessness ,or morons impressed by the concept of political parties and the need for ROS controlling whether or not a group of people may peacefully engage in democratic processes like politics.

ROS is not worth talking to because ROS is so un-neutral – totally idiotic ROS won’t even let a political party choose a logo IN THIS DAY OF CUSTOMISATION, DISALLOWING LOGO CHOICE IS TOO IDIOTIC AND BACKWARD!!! ROS is absolutely dictatorial and BACKWARD ! Let a particular logo of free choice represent a statuary declaration that all ‘unaffiliated independent’ candidates have signed, and let the ‘unaffiliated independent’ candidates wear a button badge that features the logo, or insert that logo in every public photo. There, ROS refusal to register party and logo problem solved.

Break the mold or be broken by the mold! Lets make this square (w)hole!

Commentator Comments :
…
written by A Bolehlander, July 31, 2012 14:42:21
ROC often expound that they are merely handling the registers and not a regulator (that’s when you lodge a complain over something and they refuse to take any action). Good reason why a change of governance is necessary. as Tao sage says, if you keep walking the same path, you’ll just continue reaching the same destination. 55 years of strolling down the slope (and gaining momentum too). How about changing the vehicle, the direction and way of doing things, for better or worse, we are sure at least we won’t be going down the same slope, a risk worth taking

…
written by malsia1206, July 31, 2012 14:12:13
The Pedigree in Barisan’s stable – AG, PDRM
The Thorougbreds in Barisan’s stable – EC, MACC
The Lower Liners in Barisan’s stable – ROS, CCM, National Registration, Immigration
The Judiciary is another prime suspect to fit into the upper tier.
That’s the critical setup of this present regime. Keep em all in Putrajaya’s pockets.

…
written by singhkris, July 31, 2012 14:17:06
Why is the Registrar not being challenged in court.

Anyway you continue with your challenge and the case in France. If you have to mount a legal challenge to fend off any trumped up charges, I am sure there are enough Malaysians who will support you financially. Just give a call!

PETALING JAYA, July 31 — PKR today suggested auctioning off Approved Permits (APs) for imported vehicles through an open bidding process in the first three years under Pakatan Rakyat’s (PR) rule before abolishing the system entirely in 2015.

The party’s strategy director Rafizi Ramli said this would be on top of PR’s electoral pledge to slash excise duties and to help reduce household debt and boost the disposable incomes of Malaysians.

He told a press conference today that if an estimated 70,000 APs are awarded every year, the auction should fetch nearly RM3 billion in revenue annually for the government.

He said this would help compensate for the RM8 billion in annual losses expected from PR’s plan to slash car excise duties, which currently run as high as 105 per cent.

“Under Umno-Barisan Nasional (BN), the AP system only benefits those who are close to them.

“This is why PKR suggests that the next government, whether or not under BN or PR, must abolish the AP system by 2015 in order to comply by agreements of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA),” he said.

Rafizi pointed out that under the country’s National Automotive Policy (NAP) in 2005, the AP system was supposed to be abolished by December 31, 2010, but was instead extended by five years to 2015.

He said Malaysians must be reminded of this, as the system was meant to help Bumiputera entrepreneurs to flourish in the automotive industry.

“In his Budget 2010 speech, (Prime Minister) Datuk Seri Najib Razak annnounced that every AP will be sold for RM10,000 and funds from them will be channelled to a special Bumiputera entrepreneur fund.”

Rafizi said that in 2011 alone, some 600,123 new cars were registered. Of that total, he said 533,515 units were manufactured and assembled in Malaysia, which meant that some 66,608 APs were issued for imported vehicles.

He said if APs were sold at RM10,000 each, the government should have spent RM666 million to help Bumiputera entrepreneurs from the fund.

“But until today, we still do not know what has happened to that fund or how funds from the sale of APs have been spent,” he said.

“This is why PKR suggests that the next government adheres to the commitment to abolish the AP system by 2015. But for the first three years from 2013 to 2015, necessary measures must be taken to ensure that we get the best value from the APs issued through this open auction,” he said.

Rafizi suggested that the opening bid for the auction of an AP should be set at RM10,000 for fuel-saving vehicles, RM20,000 for regular vehicles and RM30,000 for higher capacity vehicles.

He said with the estimated revenue from the auction, PR’s plan to reduce car prices by slashing excise duties would be easier to implement as it would compensate for the RM8 billion drop in government revenue.

“At the same time, our tax revenue from other means would also increase because when we return RM8 billion into the pockets of Malaysians, this would in turn be pumped back into the economy,” he pointed out.

PKR had last week promised not to impose new taxes to compensate for any potential loss of revenue from its plan to shelve excise duties to lower the sticker price of cars if it takes power in the next elections.

Malaysians pay inordinately high prices for cars mainly because of the protection afforded to national carmaker Proton since 1984.

The public pays import, excise and sales taxes that translate into some of the highest car prices in the region and the world.

A recent income survey found that a household earning RM3,000 a month could spend up to 50 per cent of its income on maintaining a car.

A cut in car duties — which currently run as high as 105 per cent — could help stimulate the economy by boosting disposable income and reducing household debt burden, analysts have also told The Malaysian Insider.

The high taxes now have resulted in about 20 per cent of the RM581 billion total household debt in the country last year being held in cars, an asset that depreciates over time.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

“At the same time, our tax revenue from other means would also increase because when we return RM8 billion into the pockets of Malaysians, this would in turn be pumped back into the economy,” he pointed out. Exceptional . . . LIKE! Frankly the above logic could be applied to almost every other tax or fee or toll or even road tax. The money should be flooating in the system not sequestered by government departments to ‘spend on our behalf’, we can do the spending instead of passing the money to the government to spend ‘for us’. Oh and remember Encik Ramli, – 2 TERMS ONLY, then GTFO of the Dewan and let another try their hand at governance before nepotistic family blocs form, power madness or corruption begins – AGAIN.

“This is why PKR suggests that the next government, whether or not under BN or PR, must abolish the AP system by 2015 in order to comply by agreements of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA),” he said. “This is why PKR suggests that the next government adheres to the commitment to abolish the AP system by 2015. But for the first three years from 2013 to 2015, necessary measures must be taken to ensure that we get the best value from the APs issued through this open auction,” he said.

How about abolishing the AP system immediately? But Pakatan would rather not educate the citizens or voters on how (lets say at 3 APs per receipient) AP enriches 23,000 or less cronies while the rest of the populace has to pay these 23,000 people who doubtless will Pakatan voters and supporters! This is unjust and, 23K people will be enriched at the expense of everyone else . . . thats 0.1% out of 26+ million citizens. Who is stupid enough to support this sort of thing? Just scrap the AP system, this is stealing from BN to enrich PR! Drop the pretence and WORK or do business or what not. AP is RENT-SEEKING plain and simple – for 23,000 CRONIES!!! Want to do something real? Allow car modders to indulge their modifications and see a boom in the most important lower end economy of garage owners and small accessory or customisable part imports, REAL work and REAL economy, not this 23K cronies get rent seeking money justified by bad laws.

Then remove Road Toll Concessionaires or limit charges to no more than 10% of month salaries at most! This way disposable income will not end up in ‘Toll Booth Corp’ or what not crony company! PAS not talking about bulldozing Tolls anymore? Greed got to them then? During the Prophet’s time, EVERYONE travelled for free, and the only people who stopped others and asked for money were HIGHWAY ROBBERS or BEGGARS which are now legitimized into the toll booth form! Even beggars are rich (though they pretend to be poor) and highway robbers have moved to high tech or less risky or more people friendly ways of making cash – like targeting the wealthy, ripping out ATMs and stealing cars for parts! The Toll Booth structure is too much like PROTECTION MONEY and gangsterism! Even gangsters prefer to set up their own pubs or mini-casinos (LEGALIZE THIS non-Muslim ENTERTAINMENT – Issue Mini Licenses . . . or run for candidacy as indies who will! ) instead than need to go door to door demanding cash. So think how unpleasant and lowly Toll Booths are in the eyes of the Rakyat (For the ‘adventurous’, how about – – – – ing the Toll Booth as well . . . ). Start bulldozing the Toll Booths or limiting the charges to no more than 10% of income at most . . .

Rafizi pointed out that under the country’s National Automotive Policy (NAP) in 2005, the AP system was supposed to be abolished by December 31, 2010, but was instead extended by five years to 2015.

The whole point of AFTA is do remove red tape and make the burden less on the consumers. These delays are intolerable. And no matter what way they present Vehicular AP, BN or PR, there is no wealth being spread here, but rent seeking and parasitism of political parties off ordinary citizens! These guys also do know that Bumiputra Apartheid was supposed to be ended in 1976 but to honestly concede, some of us are aware of how entrenched and stagnant the shameful AP mentality is now. 3 years eh? But what about completing the end of the Reid Commission’s near 60 year postponed review like gentlemen who can keep their word? The Malay leader who speaks about this would gain the respect of the international community – the above is more compromise and pandering to weakness than progress but that Reid Commission Review cannot be ignored any more. Will 3rd Force win on the back of this against BN and Pakatan failures to address? Pakatan must be aware that the very same could be given by BN IMMEDIATELY or in a statuary declaration by 3rd Force indie candidates as well. So how about making moves to ensure tha 30-40% non-Malay demographic as well with something definitive towards :

BESUT, Aug 2 — A civil servant allegedly threatened his neighbour with a paintball gun in Kampung Raja here, after his child was awakened by fireworks yesterday afternoon.

He was later detained by police at 11.25 pm last night.

“The 44-year-old suspect went to the victim’s house about 12.30 pm and threatened to shoot him with a paintball gun,” Besut police chief Supt Kamaruddin Zakaria told Bernama here today.

The victim, a 35-year-old labourer, lodged a report at the village police station the same evening, he added.

“We also seized a paintball gun at the suspect’s house,” he said.

Kamaruddin said the suspect was detained for criminal intimidation under the Penal Code and for not having a licence for the gun. — Bernama

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Any person with common sense would be laughing if someone threatened with a paintball gun and invite the person to a paintball game or match. Seized a paintball gun? Licensing is needed for a painball gun?!? So will a can of paint be considered similar to a grenade? I think the cops need to go after those with real illegal weapons instead. PB guns are toys. Fireworks in residential areas (especially at certain hours) are an offense though. Commercial areas, not really. The police sure this arrest or even this Penal Code is correct or makes sense?

ARTICLE 12

We are Malay-Muslims, we are entitled (the author is being sarcastic) 1 August 2012 | Why You Can, I Cannot? | Posted by Syahredzan Johan

Syahredzan Johan asks during this holy month, are Malay-Muslims entitled to better rights than others?

So you are fasting. The sun is bearing down on you, your stomach is growling and your throat is parched. It is only 12.30 in the afternoon; you still have hours to go before you may break your fast. All of a sudden, a non-Muslim person appears before you, enjoying an icy cold can of your favourite cola. He looks like he is savouring the cola. You could imagine the sensation of that very same cola filling your throat with diabetes-inducing caffeine goodness. So you flare up. How dare this person drink in front of you? Does he have no respect for the holy month of Ramadhan, to be wantonly quenching his thirst in full view of Muslims? Does he not know that Muslims form the majority of this country and therefore must be respected?

This is the basic premise prevalent amongst many Malay-Muslims in this country. Muslims form the majority and therefore they are entitled to be respected. Malay-Muslim sensitivities must not be offended; the Malay-Muslim public must be protected from harm, confusion and many other bad and insidious things that may threaten the ummah. In recent times, these deep rooted sentiments are brought to the fore by opportunistic politicians. Thus it appeared as if Malay-Muslims have become more and more intolerant of minorities.

Malay-Muslims are entitled not to have a Hindu temple in the vicinity of their housing estate. Malay-Muslims are entitled to dictate what names others may invoke the Creator. Malay-Muslims are entitled to stop the sale of alcohol beverages and deny the establishment of a cinema in Malay majority areas.

Every Friday, Malay-Muslims are entitled to abandon their civic consciousness and park all over the place as if the streets belong to them. Malays-Muslims are entitled to blare religious ceramahs to every corner of the neighbourhood and into the wee hours of the night.

The prime minister must be Malay-Muslim, the civil service must be filled with Malay-Muslims and government bodies are seen as Malay institutions, tasked first and foremost to safeguard Malay and Muslim interests.

This premise of entitlement has also been used to justify the persecution and discrimination against sexual and religious minorities, purportedly because Article 3 provides that Islam is the religion of the Federation. So we say that LBGTs do not enjoy protection of the Constitution because their sexual orientations are against Islam, although we conveniently forget that other things, like gambling, are also forbidden in Islam but are still legal in this country. Books are seized and banned and fatwas are made absolute. In a recent decision, the Federal Court went so far to say that the integrity of the religion needs to be safeguarded at all costs. Does ‘at all costs’ include the supremacy of the Federal Constitution as the highest law of the land?

Make no mistake, this is not about Islam. It is about how we justify the discrimination, persecution and blatant disregard for fundamental liberties, all in the name of religion. It is how we view and treat others as inferior to us because we believe that we are entitled to do so. We permit transgressions because we labour under this presumption that Malay-Muslims, by virtue of being Malays and Muslims, are entitled to the best of the country as they occupy a higher standing than the rest of the rakyat out there.

There is no legal or constitutional basis for this. Article 3 does not make Malaysia an Islamic state and Article 4 expressly provides that the Federal Constitution is the supreme law of the land. Article 8 provides that every citizen is equal before the law and enjoys equal protection of the law. The oft quoted Article 153 does not make Malay-Muslims superior in law or fact, it only provides for the reservation of quotas for Malays and natives of Sabah and Sarawak in certain matters.

So what if Muslims are the majority? We have such a flawed understanding of democracy; as if in a democracy, the rights of minorities are inferior to the rights of the majority. That is why we have a Constitution, which protects and guarantees the fundamental liberties of citizens from the tyranny of the majority.

We find ourselves up in arms at the fate of Muslims minorities in other countries like Thailand, Philippines, Myanmar and China. We invoke freedom of religion when we hear of minarets being banned in Switzerland or burqas being banned in France. But if the rights of Muslim minorities should be protected in the face of the majority, why is it that we do not have the same vigour to protect the rights our non-Muslim minorities? Why must the rights of others here only be exercised if we deem those rights as exercisable?

So before you take offence at someone who is drinking in front of you while you are fasting, take a step back and think of your religion. Put aside your sense of entitlement and think; just because you are fasting, does it mean that everyone else around you must stow away their food and drinks?

Posted on 1 August 2012. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0.

Read more articles posted by Syahredzan Johan.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Apply accordingly the laws. In China or India, does a Malay or Muslim who is a full citizen have full access to whatever social services or some acronym b.s. government outfit funded equally from all tax payers? So in Malaysia, the same can only be applied on Chinese or Indian. This Syahredzan Johan writer sounds like an MP worthy sort, do run for private candidacy if able to endorse :

I believe that parallel comparisons of policy and constitution in Malaysia to India, and Malaysia to China, will confirm that the Indian and Chinese citizens here in Malaysia are getting a very bad deal – social and economic apartheid, and that the Indian or Chinese reps. (out of sheer greed or fear and cowardice) here have failed their duty as ‘leaders’ of their commmunities for allowing APARTHEID while the Malay MPs have been complict in not acting against such ill natured and shameful policy.

Selected Commentator Comments :

@starranise – 1 August 2012 – 5:54 pm

Apologising to all Muslims during Ramadhan when you have done nothing wrong is unnecessary. It is your right to eat or drink whenever you choose. You’re not the one fasting. Resisting temptations is one of the fundamental motives behind fasting. It is part of a Muslim’s trial. If they are offended or angry with you, they are jeopardising their own fast. Food and drink are secondary to the process of fasting. It is discipline, patience, consideration, empathy, feeling at peace with oneself and the people around you. That’s the deeper meaning of Ramadhan.

KUALA LUMPUR- Ronnie Liu Tian Khiew of DAP was taken to task by a MCA leader yesterday for not explaining why there was a growing number of illegal massage parlours operating in Selangor.

MCA Selangor liaison committee secretary Wong Kun Moon claimed that since DAP and its allies took over the state in 2008, the number of massage parlours had increased from 800 to 4,000.

“Liu had repeatedly denied this during state assembly sessions by saying that the previous administration under Barisan Nasional had put a freeze on the applications of new massage parlours since 2006.

“However, despite the freeze, about 3,200 illegal centres are now operating in the state,” Wong said when contacted yesterday.

(Liu is the Selangor executive council member in charge of Local Government, Research and Development and also Pandamaran assemblyman.)

Wong said several Selangor leaders, including Parti Keadilan Rakyat’s Bukit Lanjan assemblyman Elizabeth Wong, had queried Liu over the rising number of illegal massage parlours in the state.

“Every time the issue is raised, Liu will put the blame on the previous BN-led Selangor government.”

According to Wong, there were about 4,000 massage parlours operating in the state and a majority of them had no licence.

“There are more than 400 illegal centres operating in Klang alone. If Liu is sceptical, I urge him to take a look for himself and to stop lying.”

Wong, who is also Kuala Kubu Baru assemblyman, also urged Liu to clarify the matter by disclosing the number of massage parlours approved by the state government since 2008.

“The Selangor government has the authority to issue permits for these parlours, but its failure to enforce its rules over these centres has resulted in the rise of social problems.”

Wong also challenged Liu to prove he was not colluding with the owners of such centres “for his own personal benefit”.

He was referring to an incident on Nov 2, 2007, where Liu was accused of inciting the staff and customers of a hotel in Puchong to prevent a Subang Jaya Municipal Council (MPSJ) enforcement officer from performing his duties.

In the anti-vice operation, police and MPSJ officers had raided the unlicensed hotel and detained 22 foreign prostitutes, including 12 male patrons.

In response to the allegations, Liu told Wong to refrain from making unsubstantiated claims and challenged him to disclose the list of the 4,000 massage parlours within 24 hours.

– New Straits Times

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

We may not like Ronnie Liu supporting nepotism (close 1 eye mentality to democracy killing nepotism by Ronnie shows unethical mindset), but in this case let the people hang around these supposedly illegal bars instead of getting bored which leads to all kinds of negative behaviour. Make drinks cheap so they will be drinking instead of robbing to pay for expensive drinks. Legalise small-bet casinos and RLDs or Organics Psychedelics Bars so that they will be playing games and f- – – ing, or getting pleasantly stoned (price controls on organics please, these things grow FOR FREE and cost nothing!!! Prohibition mindset causes crime and high prices.) Instead of robbing people and burgling homes. Take away the entertainment districts at your own risk fools.

Guess who the first people they target will be? The MPs, Assemblymen, EXCOs, Residents Committees, even the people who set customs duties and tax levels (too damn high) and any law makers who took away their entertainment or made entertainment too expensive . . . on top of apartheid and extreme religion the Malaysian Fed Gov. want to take away places of entertainment? The Malaysian Fed Gov. must be insane . . . run for election and remove these red tape extremists and moralists. There are fun loving people who are not Muslims that need their spaces for entertainment too. Licence and legalize instead of creating more dangerous urban environments by boring the citizens out of their minds AMEND LAWS or GTFO of Dewan! . . .

ARTICLE 14

Fined for offensive weapon possesion, failure to produce IC – Thursday, August 02, 2012 – 15:48 – by Bernama
A MECHANIC was fined RM1,000, in default a month’s jail, by the Magistrate’s Court here today for possession of an offensive weapon in front of a hotel here last week.